29th  Congress, 
1st  Session. 


Rep.  No.  144. 


Ho.  of  Reps. 


JOHN  ERICSSON. 

[To  accompany  bill  H.  R.  No.  148.] 


January  27,  1846. 

Mr.  T.  Butler  King,  from  the  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs,  made  the 

following 

REPORT: 

The  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs,  to  ichom  was  referred  the  memorial  of 
John  Ericsson,  report  as  follows  : 

Some  time  previous  to  the  year  1841,  Captain  Robert  F.  Stockton,  of  the 
navy  of  the  United  States,  was  engaged  in  inquiries  respecting  the  practica- 
bility of  constructing  steam  vessels  of  war,  with  machinery  and  propeller 
beneath  the  water  line,  and  out  of  reach  of  the  enemy's  shot.  In  pursu- 
ing these  inquiries,  Captain  Stockton  consulted  the  memorialist,  whose 
reputation  as  an  eminently  skillful  and  highly  ingenious  mechanical  engi- 
neer has  been  familiar,  for  the  last  twenty  years,  to  all  persons,  on  both 
sides  of  the  Atlantic,  conversant  with  the  progress  of  mechanical  inven- 
tion. The  memorialist,  who  then  resided  in  England,  was  employed  by 
Captain  Stockton  to  plan  and  superintend  the  construction  of  an  iron  boat, 
with  submerged  wheels,  and  an  engine  similar  in  its  general  arrangements 
to  that  of  the  Princeton.  The  boat  and  the  engine  were  intended  to  serve 
as  models  for  the  construction  of  a  ship  of-war,  and  were  sent  to  the  Uni- 
ted States  for  that  purpose. 

The  memorialist  came  to  the  United  States  in  the  year  1839.  It  was  not 
till  some  time  in  the  year  1841,  however,  that  the  construction  of  a  steam 
ship  of  war  upon  the  above  plan  was  determined  upon  by  government,  when 
Captain  Stockton  was  ordered,  upon  his  own  application,  to  superintend  the 
building  of  the  ship.  By  arrangements  between  Captain  Stockton  and  the 
memorialist,  the  latter  furnished  the  draughts  and  plan  for  the  ship  and  ma- 
chinery ;  and  the  engine,  with  its  heating  apparatus,  sliding  chimney,  and 
other  appurtenances,  the  propeller  and  steering  apparatus,  the  gun  carriages 
and  self-acting  gun  locks,  and  other  mechanical  contrivances  about  the  ship, 
were,  as  it  appears  by  the  testimony  of  the  contractors  for  the  machinery,  con- 
structed wholly  from  the  draughts,  and  under  the  direction  of  the  memorial- 
ist, to  whom  the  contractors  and  other  artisans  were  referred  by  Captain 
Stockton  for  instructions,  and  the  memorialist  was  constantly  occupied  in 
these  labors  for  about  two  years.  * 

The  invention  of  the  propeller  applied  to  the  Princeton  is  disputed, 
though  it  is  conceded  that  it  was  first  successfully  applied  by  the  memo- 
rialist ;  and  it  is  also  conceded  that  all  the  other  machinery  of  the  ship  now 
known  as  the  Princeton,  is  the  original  contrivance  of  the  memorialist,  and 
Ritchie  &  Heiss,  primers. 


i  I  "7 


.6**  5  i 


2 


Rep.  No.  144. 


according  to  the  testimony  of  all  competent  persons  who  have  examined 
that  vessel,  it  is  marked  by  extraordinary  fertility  of  invention,  ingenuity, 
and  originality,  and,  as  far  as  yet  tested,  great  efficiency.  The  memorial- 
ist, therefore,  is  entitled  to  the  sole  credit  of  whatever  valuable  new  proper- 
ties the  ship  may  be  found  to  possess,  with  the  exception  of  certain  novel 
features  of  her  armament,  to  the  merit  of  which  he  lays  no  claim. 

As  to  the  work  itself,  if  in  any  aspect  it  may  be  material  for  the  memo- 
rialist to  show  that  it  was  executed  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  govern- 
ment, it  would  be  only  necessary  to  refer  to  Executive  document  No.  121, 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  28th  Congress,  1st  Session,  hereunto  an- 
nexed, and  marked  schedule  M,  as  furnishing  the  memorialist  with  a  con- 
clusive certificate  to  that  effect.  True  it  is  that  the  name  of  the  memorial- 
ist is  not  mentioned  in  that  document,  but  it  is,  nevertheless,  admitted  that 
he  has  actually  accomplished  the  results  therein  so  favorably  set  forth. 
This  omission  of  his  name  is  the  more  remarkable,  from  the  fact  that  it 
would  appear,  from  the  letter  of  Captain  Stockton  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  with  date  of  May  20,  1844 — annexed,  and  marked  B  B— that  it  was 
in  his  contemplation  to  remunerate  the  memorialist  solely  by  the  fame  of 
his  labors.  One  can  hardly  imagine  a  more  proper  occasion  for  acknow- 
ledging the  "services  of  Captain  Ericsson's  mechanical  skill,"  than  that  of 
presenting  to  the  government  a  detailed  report  of  the  results  they  had  ac- 
complished in  carrying  out  the  "  well-intended  efforts"  of  Captain  Stockton 
for  the  "benefit  of  the  country,"  If  the  memorialist  had  received  the 
credit  of  these  labors,  he  might  have  willingly  compromised,  to  some  ex- 
tent, the  amount  of  his  compensation,  or,  if  he  had  received  reasonable  com- 
pensation, he  might  well  have  dispensed  with  a  portion  of  the  credit ;  but  to 
be  denied  pay  on  the  ground,  substantially,  that  he  did  the  work  for  the 
reputation  which  he  expected  to  derive  from  it,  and  to  find  his  name  with- 
held, though  no  doubt  unintentionally,  both  from  the  Navy  Department 
and  from  Congress,  involves  contradictions  which  cannot  be  reconciled  in 
any  wise  with  the  just  interests  of  the  memorialist,  and  the  undesigned 
tendency  of  which  is  to  deprive  him  of  both  pay  and  reputation. 

The  work,  then,  has  been  done,  and  is  admitted  by  the  government's  own 
agent  to  have  been  well  done,  and  is  endorsed  with  the  implied  approbation 
of  the  President  himself,  in  an  official  communication  to  Congress.  His 
employers  have  substantially  certified  that  the  ship  in  question  is  the 'fast- 
est, cheapest,  and  most  certain  ship  of  war  in  the  world  ;"  and  that  it  is  the 
result  of  the  genius  and  labor  of  the  memorialist,  is  not,  in  any  quarter,  dis- 
puted. There  is,  thus  far,  no  obvious  reason  why  the  memorialist  should 
not  be  paid  a  reasonable  sum  for  his  services.  He  appears,  however,  to 
have  received  no  compensation  whatever,  except  the  sum  of  $1,150,  ad- 
vanced to  him,  during  the  progress  of  the  work,  by  Captain  Stockton,  and 
which,  not  entering  into  the  official  accounts,  remains  as  a  matter  of  per- 
sonal adjustment  between  the  parties,  of  which  it  is  not  necessary  for  the 
committee  to  take  notice.  But  the  claim  of  the  memorialist,  for  the  services 
above  mentioned,  pre>ented  to  the  Navy  Department  in  March,  1844,  was 
disallowed  for  reasons  set  forth  in  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to 
the  memorialist,  dated  May  11,  1844,  (schedule  F,  annexed,)  and  in  a  letter 
to  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs  of  the  last  Congress,  hereto 
annexed,  and  marked  A  A;  although  the  bills  of  the  contractors,  and  other 
artisans,  who  constructed  the  machinery  from  the  draughts  and  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  memorialist,  have  been  allowed  and  paid,  upon  the  certificate 


Rep.  No.  144. 


of  Captain  Stockton,  approved  by  the  commandant  of  the  navy  yard  at 
Philadelphia,  where  the  Princeton  was  built. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  bases  his  refusal  to 
allow  the  claim  of  the  memorialist,  entirely  upon  the  statement  of  Captain 
Stockton,  as  given  at  large  in  his  letter  of  May  20th,  to  which  the  commit- 
tee have  already  referred  (B  B).  In  all  cases  where  an  individual  devotes 
his  time  and  labor  to  the  service  of  another,  or  of  the  government,  the  legal 
presumption  is,  that  a  pecuniary  reward  is  contemplated,  both  by  the  em- 
ployer and  the  person  employed.  Upon  this  principle,  the  memorialist  is 
clearly  entitled  to  compensation,  unless  sufficient  reasons  can  be  found,  in 
the  evidence  of  Captain  Stockton,  as  detailed  in  that  letter?,  for  withhold- 
ing it. 

The  material  allegation  of  the  letter  is,  that  the  memorialist  was  permitted, 
at  his  own  solicitation,  and  with  a  distinct  understanding  that  his  services 
were  to  be  gratuitous,  to  introduce  his  inventions  on  board  the  Princeton, 
as  a  test  of  their  value  and  as  a  means  of  recommending  them  to  general 
use. 

Although  some  advantage  might  thus  be  expected  to  accrue  to  the  me- 
morialist, it  is  hardly  probable  that  he  would  have  been  disposed  to  devote 
so  great  a  length  of  time  to  the  service  of  government,  for  the  sake  of  an  ex- 
perimental test  of  the  value  of  inventions,  which,  in  general,  are  applicable 
only  to  an  armed  marine,  and,  of  course,  not  likely  to  be  extensively  pat- 
ronized ;  and  which,  therefore,  have  not  been  secured  by  patent.  It  may 
be  added,  with  regard  to  the  propeller  itself,  that  it  had  ceased  to  be  consid- 
ered experimental  long  before  the  building  of  the  Princeton.  But,  without 
dwelling  on  these  considerations,  the  committee  find,  in  the  accompanying 
letters  from  Captain  Stockton  to  the  memorialist,  abundant  proof  of  the 
original  employ  ment  of  the  latter  by  that  officer  ;  and  of  an  explicit  under- 
standing between  them  that  the  memorialist  was  to  be  compensated  by  the 
government,  both  for  his  services  and  the  use  of  his  inventions. 

The  Navy  Department  does  net  appear  to  have  been  apprized,  by  Cap- 
tain Stockton,  that  the  memorialist  had  been  employed  by  him  ;  but  there 
is  no  evidence  that  the  memorialist  was  aware  of  this  circumstance;  cn 
the  contrary,  he  ha,d  a  right  to  suppose,  and  probably  did  suppose,  from' 
Captain  Stockton's  undated  letter,  (hereto  annexed,  and  marked  No.  12,) 
that  his  employment  and  expectation  were  made  known  to  the  government. 
For  proof  of  the  employment  of  the  memorialist  by  Captain  Stockton,  and 
the  understanding  of  both  in  respect  to  compensation,  the  committee  refer, 
generally,  to  the  letters  above  alluded  to,  and  hereto  annexed,  marked,  re- 
spectively, 12  to  27 ;  but  they  consider  the  letter  marked  No.  12,  which, 
though  undated,  obviously  appears  to  have  been  written  before  the  con- 
struction of  the  ship  was  commenced,  and  which  expressly  mentions  com- 
pensation for  the  use  of  patents,  and  the  letter  dated  February  2,  1844, 
(marked  No.  26,)  desiring  a  receipt  for  moneys  paid  by  Captain  Stockton, 
for '-'services  rendered  in  constructing  and  superintending  machinery  of  the 
United  States  ship  Princeton,"  as  conclusively  proving  that  that  officer  en- 
couraged the  memorialist  to  expert  from  government  a  remuneration,  both 
for  his  personal  services  and  the  use  of  his  inventions. 

It  is  proper  here  to  notice  that  the  memorialist  alleges  that  he  replied  fo 
Captain  Stockton's  undated  communication  (marked  No.  12)  by  a  letter,  in 
accordance  with  the  suggestions  of  Captain  Stockton's,  dated  July  28, 1841, 
a  copy  of  which  (marked  No.  13)  is  hereunto  annexed.    There  is  no  proof, 


4 


Rep.  No.  144. 


but  the  allegation  of  the  memorialist,  that  such  reply  was  forwarded  ;  but 
in  the  absence  of  all  complaint  from  Captain  Stockton  of  a  neglect  to  reply, 
and  the  want  of  evidence  that  a  different  answer  was  written,  the  commit- 
tee incline  to  believe  the  answer  sufficiently  proved. 

The  committee  therefore  consider  these  facts  as  established — that  Cap- 
tain Stockton  had  sufficient  authority  from  the  government  to  employ  the 
memorialist  in  its  service,  and  to  bind  the  government  to  compensate  him; 
both  for  his  time  and  the  use  of  his  inventions ;  that,  in  pursuance  of  such 
authority,  he  did  employ  the  memorialist,  upon  an  understanding  that  he 
was  to  be  reasonably  paid  for  his  labors,  in  superintendence,  and  the  exer- 
cise of  his  mechanical  ingenuity  ;  and  that  the  memorialist,  thus  employed, 
has  devoted  much  time  to  the  concerns  of  the  government,  and  rendered  it 
valuable  services,  in  the  just  and  well  founded  expectation  of  a  reasonable 
reward. 

The  committee  are  unable  to  discover  any  distinction  in  principle,  be- 
tween the  case  of  the  memorialist  and  that  of  the  founders,  machinists,  and 
other  artisans,  employed  in  constructing  the  Princeton,  by  the  same  agent 
and  under  the  same  authority ;  and  they  submit  that  he  is  entitled  to  remu- 
neration on  every  principle  of  equity  and  every  rule  of  law. 

The  extreme  hardship  of  the  case  of  the  memorialist  has  been  augmented 
by  circumstances  which  have  occurred  since  the  presentation  of  his  memo- 
rial, proof  of  which  has  been  before  the  committee.  They  deem  it,  therefore, 
very  material  to  add,  that  the  memorialist  has  been  subjected  to  great  expense, 
and  to  a  great  sacrifice  of  time  and  labor,  in  defending,  in  the  circuit  court  of 
the  United  States  for  the  southern  district  of  New  York,  a  suit  brought  therein, 
in  April  term,  1844,  by  Mr.  Francis  P.  Smith,  of  London,  on  behalf  of  the 
company  formed  in  Great  Britain  for  the  introduction  of  the  Archimedean 
screw  in  steam  navigation.  The  plaintiff  alleges  that  the  memorialist  has 
invaded  rights,  secured  to  him  by  letters  patent,  in  the  construction  of  the 
Princeton  and  Legare,  armed  vessels  in  the  public  service  of  the  United 
States,  and  claims  to  recover  of  him  the  sum  of  $5,000  actual  damages,  to 
be  trebled  in  the  discretion  of  the  court.  In  contemplation  of  the  company 
to  which  the  committee  have  above  referred,  the  exclusive  privilege  of 
locating  a  screw  propeller  in  the  dead-wood  of  a  ship,  whether  of  the  mer- 
cantile marine  or  the  naval  service,  belongs  to  Mr.  Francis  P.  Smith,  of 
London  ;  and  it  is  this  claim  which  the  memorialist,  in  consequence  of  his 
connexion  with  the  armed  ships  in  question,  has  been  compelled  to  contest 
in  an  expensive  and  vexatious  litigation.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  pecu- 
liar arrangement  of  the  propelling  apparatus  which  induces  the  controversy 
in  question,  has  never  been  employed  by  the  memorialist  in  commercial 
vessels,  and  that  the  right  to  employ  it  in  our  armed  marine  is  rather  a  mat- 
ter of  public  concern  than  of  any  private  interest  to  the  memorialist. 

On  the  trial  of  the  cause  it  was  ruled,  however,  by  Mr.  Justice  Nelson, 
who  presided  on  the  occasion,  that,  if  the  application  of  the  propeller  in 
the  Princeton  was  an  invasion  of  the  plaintiff's  right,  the  memoiialist  war 
liable  to  answer  for  it  in  damages;  although  it  fully  appeared  that  the  em- 
ployment of  the  memorialist  had  not  been  officially  recognised  or  remune- 
rated. The  infringement  not  having  been  proved  to  the  satisfaction  of 
the  jury,  they  failed  to  agree  upon  a  verdict,  and  the  suit  is  still  in  the 
course  of  active  prosecution  by  the  plaintiff. 

It  appears  in  proof  that  the  expenses  of  the  litigation  have  been  exclu- 
sively borne  by  the  memorialist,  and  that  no  other  party  employed  in  build- 


Rep.  No.  144. 


mg  or  fitting  out  the  Princeton  has  been  prosecuted  for  his  agency  therein,  and 
that  the  memorialist  has  received  no  assistance  whatever  in  the  conduct  or 
in  the  expenses  of  the  said  suit,  from  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
from  the  officer  under  whose  superintendence  the  Princeton  was  built,  or 
from  the  contractors  or  manufacturers  of  the  said  steam  machinery,  or  the 
naval  constructors;  but  that  the  whole  burden  of  the  same  has  been  thrown 
on  the  memorialist,  and  has  been  sustained  at  his  unaided  individual  ex- 
pense. Whether  or  not  there  is  any  design  in  the  selection  of  the  memo- 
rialist as  the  subject  of  attack  by  this  foreign  company,  with  the  view  of 
embarrassing  the  introduction  of  his  inventions  in  our  naval  service,  or  for 
any  other  cause,  it  is  not  material  to  inquire ;  but  the  committee  deem  it  not 
improper  to  add,  in  this  connexion,  that,  though  Mr.  F.  P.  Smith  obtained 
his  letters  patent  in  England  in  1836,  and  has  employed  his  invention  ad- 
vantageously in  the  British  navy  and  under  the  patronage  of  the  lords  of 
the  admiralty,  he  has  never  yet  introduced  it  into  the  United  States,  whilst 
the  memorialist  appears  to  have  come  to  this  country  in  1839  with  reference 
to  this  particular  object,  and  to  have  been  occupied  exclusively,  during  a 
large  portion  of  the  time  that  has  since  elapsed,  in  demonstrating  the  supe- 
riority of  this  mode  of  propulsion  for  the  purposes  of  naval  warfare,  by  his 
own  unrecognised  and,  hitherto,  unremunerated  labors. 

It  would  seem  obvious  that,  if  the  memorialist  is  called  upon  to  bear  the 
burden  of  his  connexion  with  the  Princeton,  he  is  entitled  to  enjoy  the 
credit  of  its  construction,  and  a  reasonable  compensation  for  his  labors. 

With  regard  to  the  amount  of  compensation  claimed,  the  committee  have  ' 
been  satisfied,  by  abundant  testimony  on  behalf  of  the  memorialist  and  of 
the  United  States,  that  the  sum  of  $15,080,  claimed  by  the  memorialist,  is 
but  a  moderate  remuneration  for  his  services  as  engineer  in  planning  and  in 
constructing  the  machinery  and  armament  of  the  United  States  war  steamer 
Princeton,  and  this  even  without  reference  to  the  length  of  time  during  which, 
he  has  remained  unrewarded,  or  the  great  expenses  to  which  he  has  been 
subjected  by  the  litigation  to  which  they  have  referred.  It  is  sufficient 
to  say  that  the  charges  comprehend  the  planning  and  superintending 
the  construction  of  a  double  semi-cylindrical  steam-engine,  on  an  entirely 
new  plan  ;  a  submerged  propeller  ;  boilers  ;  sliding  chimney,  with  a  mech- 
anism for  raising  and  depressing  the  same  ;  centrifugal  blowers,  and  engines 
for  working  the  same  ;  a  heating  apparatus  for  retaining  the  caloric  usually 
lost  in  blowing  off  at  sea,  and  employing  the  heat  of  the  waste  steam  from 
:he  engines  for  heating  the  feed- water  before  entering  the  boilers  :  rudder 
and  frame  of  steering  apparatus  ;  wrought-iron  carriages  and  friction  gear 
for  the  large  guns;  carronade  carriages;  self-acting  gun  locks  ;  spirit 
level  for  the  large  guns;  geometrical  stair-case,  and  other  arrangements 
connected  with  the  engine  room ;  constructing  the  general  plan  of  the 
ship,  and  ship's  lines  below  water ;  together  with  office  expenses,  pos- 
tages, stationery,  carriers'  charges,  and  travelling  expenses  necessary  in 
the  superintendence  of  the  said  work  at  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and 
Sandy  Hook,  and  other  expenses  incurred  during  the  period  that  the  me- 
morialist was  exclusively  devoter}  to  the  service  of  the  United  States.  To 
]x\y  the  amount  which  thus  appears  to  be  justly  due  to  the  memorialist,  the 
committee  report  the  accompanying  bill. 


6  Rep.  No.  144. 


Memorial  of  John  Ericsson,  of  the  city  of  New  Y~ork.  civil  engineer,  ad- 
dressed  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  'praying  for  compensa- 
tion  of  his  services,  as  engineer,  in  planning  and  super  intending  the 
construction  of  the  steam  machinery  and  propeller  of  the  United  States 
steamer  Princeton,  and  for  other  se?*vices  specified  in  the  accounts  an- 
nexed. 

To  the  honorable  the  Co?igress  of  the  United  States : 

The  memorial  of  John  Ericsson,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  civil  engi- 
neer, respectfully  showeth  :  that  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  March  ultimo 
he  addressed  to  the  honorable  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  a  communication 
transmitting  an  account,  in  duplicate,  for  services  rendered  as  engineer  in 
planning  and  superintending  the  construction  of  the  steam  machinery  of 
the  United  States  steamer  Princeton,  and  for  certain  inventions  therein 
specified.  A  copy  of.  the  said  communication  and  account  is  hereunto 
annexed,  and  marked  schedule  A. 

To  this  communication  your  memorialist  had  the  honor  to  receive  from 
the  honorable  the  Secretary  of  the  INavy  ad  interim  a  letter  informing  him 
that  the  said  communication  had  been  referred  to  Captain  Robert  F.  Stock- 
ton for  his  report,  a  copy  of  which  letter  is  annexed,  marked  schedule  B. 

Receiving  no  further  reply  from  the  department,  your  memorialist,  un- 
der date  of  April  8th,  had  the  honor  to  address  a  letter  to  the  honorable  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  referring  to  the  communication  of  the  34th  March, 
and  soliciting  his  early  attention  to  the  same.  A  copy  of  this  letter  is  an- 
nexed, maiked  schedule  C. 

This  letter  having  remained  unnoticed  for  a  month,  your  memorialist 
had  the  honor  to  address  another  letter,  under  date  of  the  8th  instant,  to 
the  honorable  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  a  copy  of  which  is  hereunto  an- 
nexed, and  marked  schedule  D. 

To  this  letter  your  memorialist,  on  the  13th  instant,  had  the  honor  to 
receive  replies,  under  the  dates  respectively  of  May  10th  and  May  11th, 
copies  of  which  are  hereunto  annexed,  marked  R  and  F. 

By  the  last  letter  your  memorialist  is  informed,  in  effect,  that  he  is  to 
receive  no  compensation  from  the  department  for  the  services  he  has  ren- 
dered, and  which  are  enumerated  in  the  accounts  which  your  memorialist 
had  the  honor  to  submit  to  the  department  under  date  of  the  14th  March. 
Under  these  circumstances,  your  memorialist  is  compelled  to  appeal  to  Con- 
gress for  the  compensation  thus  denied  by  the  department. 

It  will  be  perceived,  from  the  letter  to  which  your  memorialist  has  last 
alluded,  that  it  is  suggested  by  Captain  Stockton  that  your  memorialist  has 
no  "legal  claim"  upon  the  department.  By  this  expression,  Captain 
Stockton  does  not  intend  to  deny  that  the  services  alleged  have  been  ren- 
dered ;  that  the  work  for  which  your  memorialist  claims  compensation  has 
been  done  by  him,  arid  well  done  ;  nor  that  the  United  States  are  in  the 
.  present  enjoyment  of  the  unpaid  results  of  your  memorialist's  labor  and 
invention. 

The  annexed  affidavits  of  Merrick  and  Towne,  of  Philadelphia,  and  of 
Hog^  and  Delamater,  of  New  York,  marked  respectively  G  and  11,  are 
submitted  in  verification  of  the  account  originally  rendered  to  the  depart- 
ment. 


Rep.  No.  144. 


7 


A  claim  founded  on  such  considerations,  and  so  verified,  your  memorial- 
ist cannot  well  distinguish  from  a  "  legal  claim." 

From  the  confidence  which  your  memorialist  entertained  in  the  success 
of  his  inventions,  he  had  no  hesitation  in  entering  into  an  arrangement 
with  Captain  Stockton,  that  the  patent  fees  for  the  propeller  and  steam  en- 
gine of  the  Princeton  should  be  left  entirely  to  himself  or  the  department. 
As  early  as  July,  1841,  your  memorialist  received  a  letter  from  Captain 
Stockton  requesting  from  him  a  letter  giving  his  views  on  the  subject  of 
the  use  of  his  patent  rights.  "  As  a  great  effort  has  been  made,"  wrote 
Captain  Stockton  at  that  time,  "  to  get  a  ship  built  for  the  experiment,  I 
think  you  had  better  say  to  me  in  your  letter  that  your  charge  will  hereafter 

be  (if  the  experiment  should  prove  successful)  ;  but  as  this  is  the 

first  trial  on  so  large  a  scale,  I  am  at  liberty  to  use  the  patents,  and,  after 
the  ship  is  tried,  the  government  may  pay  for  their  use  in  that  ship  whatever 
sum  they  may  deem  proper." 

To  that  letter,  your  memorialist  replied  in  the  manner  that  Captain  Stock- 
ton requested,  using,  with  regard  to  the  u  patent  right"  for  the  ship  propel- 
ler and  semi  cylindrical  steam  engine,  the  following  language  :  "I  beg  to 
state  that  whenever  the  efficiency  of  the  intended  machinery  of  your 
steam  frigate  shall  have  been  duly  tested,  I  shall  be  satisfied  with  whatev- 
er sum  yon  may  -please  to  recommend,  or  the  government  see  fit  to  pay,  for 
the  patent  right."  This  your  memorialist  presumes  to  be  the  agree- 
ment which  Captain  Stockton  alleges  to  be  t; directly  violated"  by  the  ac- 
count which  your  memorialist  has  submitted  to  the  department.  It  is  true 
that  your  memorialist  consented  thus  to  leave  the  amount  of  his  patent 
fees  to  what  Captain  Stockton  should  "  recommend,"  or  the  government 
see  fit  to  pay.  Six  months  have  elapsed  since  the  ship  was  tried.  Four 
months  have  elapsed  since  Captain  Stockton-  reported  to  your  honorable 
body  that  the  Princeton  "can  make  greater  speed  than  any  sea-going 
steamer  or  other  vessel  heretofore  built,"  and  expressed  his  belief  that  she 
would  prove  "invincible"  against  any  foe.  Meanwhile,  the  government 
has  not  seen  fit  to  pay  your  memorialist  any  thing  for  his  patent  rights. 
Meanwhile,  Captain  Stockton  has  not  been  pleased  to  recommend  that 
any  thing  should  be  paid  to  your  memorialist  for  his  patent  rights. 
And  when  your  memorialist  calls  upon  the  department,  not  for  the  patent 
fees  in  question,  but  for  the  bare  repayment  of  his  expenditures,  and  com- 
pensation for  his  time  and  labor  in  the  service  of  the  United  States — still 
leaving  his  patent  charges  to  their  own  voluntary  action — he  is  told  that 
the  "government  cannot  allow  his  claim."  and  the  presentation  of  his  bill, 
"  if  it  is  to  be  considered  a  legal  claim  upon  the  department,"  "  violates  an 
agreement." 

This  agreement,  it  is  obvious,  had  reference  only  to  the  patent  rights  in 
question,  and  not  to  the  services  of  your  memorialist  as  engineer,  his  ex- 
penses in  that  capacity,  nor  to  his  compensation  for  the  numerous  inven- 
tions and  improvements  unconnected  with  ihe  engine  and  propeller  which 
were  subsequently  introduced  in  the  Princeton.  Your  memorialist  never 
contemplated  that  th^se  services  should  be  gratuitously  rendered,  and  it 
would  require,  certainly,  a  very^lear  and  unequivocal  expression  of  such 
an  intent  on  his  part  to  lead  any  one  to  a  conclusion  so  extraordinary. 

Under  these  circumstances,  your  memorialist  is  compelled  to  apply  to 
your  honorable  body  for  relief,  and  would  respectfully  solicit  the  attention 
of  your  honorable  body  to  the  verified  accounts  he  has  the  honor  to  trans- 
mit to  them.    The  advances  which  your  memorialist  has  made  on  account 


8  Rep.  No.  144. 


of  the  United  States,  and  the  great  length  of  time  during  which  he  was  de- 
voted to  this  work  without  compensation,  have  exhausted  his  resources ; 
and  the  refusal  of  the  department  to  entertain  his  claim  leaves  him  no  re- 
course but  that  of  making  a  direct  appeal  to  the  representatives  of  the 
American  people. 
All  which  is  most  respectfully  submitted  by  your  obedient  servant. 

JOHN  ERICSSON. 


Schedule  A. 

City  of  New  York,  March  14,  1£44. 

Sir  :  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  to  you,  annexed,  the  bill  for  my  ser- 
vices as  engineer  in  planning  and  superintending  the  construction  of  the 
steam  machinery,  armament,  &c,  of  the  U.  S.  steamer  Princeton,  and  for 
certain  inventions  therein  specified. 

I  beg  leave  to  state  that  the  per  diem  charge,  of  five  pounds  sterling,  in- 
cludes all  my  office,  travelling,  and  other  professional  disbursements,  and 
barely  covers  my  expenses  for  the  time  during  which  I  have  been  occupied 
on  this  important  national  work. 

Of  the  value  of  the  inventions  which  I  have  introduced  in  the  Princeton, 
the  results  of  much  previous  labor  and  outlay,  it  does  not  become  me  to 
speak.  On  this  subject  I  can  only  refer  to  the  recent  official  report  of  Cap- 
tain Stockton,  and  to  the  report  made  by  the  American  Institute  of  New 
York,  at  Captain  Stockton's  request,  a  copy  of  which  is  herewith  enclosed. 
In  any  point  of  view,  I  trust  that  my  professional  charges  will  be  deemed 
reasonable  by  the  department,  for  it  has  been  my  intention  to  make  them 
so.  When  the  sum  total  of  charges  is  compared  with  the  magnitude  of  the 
work  that  has  been  performed,  it  "will  exhibit  a  moderate  compensation  for 
services  of  such  variety  and  extent. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  most  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  ERICSSON. 

The  Hon.  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 


New  York,  March  13,  1S44. 

U.  S.  Navy  Department, 

To  John  Ericsson,  Civil  Engineer,  Dr. 

For  planning  and  superintending  the  construction  of  the  machinery,  ar- 
mament, (fee,  &c,  of  the  United  States  war  steamer  Princeton,  viz:  plan- 
ning and  superintending  the  construction  of  a  double  semi-cylindrical  steam- 
engine  on  an  entirely  new  plan  ;  a  submerged  propeller  ;  boilers  ;  sliding 
chimney,  with  a  mechanism  for  raising  and  depressing  the  same  ;  centrifu- 
gal blowers  and  engines  for  working  the  same;  a  heating  apparatus  for 
returning  the  caloric  usually  lost  in  blowing  off  at  sea,  and  employing  the 
heat  of  the  waste  steam  from  the  engines  for  heating  the  feed  water  before 
entering  the  boilers  ;  rudder  and  frame  of  steering  apparatus ;  wrought  iron 
carriages  and  friction  gear  for  the  large  guns;  carronade  carriages  ;  self- 
acting  gun  locks  ;  spirit  level  for  the  large  gun  ;  ^fometrical  staircase,  and 
other  arrangements  connected  with  the  engine  room  ;  constructing  the  gen- 


Rep.  No.  144. 


9 


eral  plan  of  ship  and  ship's  lines  below  water  ;  also  for  time  occupied  in 
travelling,  and  travelling  expenses  in  superintending  said  work  at  Philadel- 
phia, New  York,  and  Sandy  Hook  ;  office  expenses ;  postage :  carrier's 
charges  ;  cab  hire ;  letters  of  instruction  to  the  manufacturers,  &c,  &c,  viz : 

Planning  the  semi- cylindrical  steam  engine  and  submerged propeller. 

SPECIFICATION  OF  DRAWINGS. 

Piston  shafts,  crank  levers,  and  pins,  scale  11  inch  to  the  foot : 
Crank  shaft,  main  crank  and  pin,  propeller  shaft  and  clutch  boxes, 
scale  ditto : 

Larboard  semi  cylinder,  end  plates,  covers,  centre  pieces  and  guide 

rings,  scale  ditto  : 
Larboard  connecting  rod  complete,  scale  3  inches  to  the  foot  : 
Quadrant,  double  and  single  crank  levers,  and  axes  of  reversing 

motion,  scale  ditto  : 
Axes  and  cranks  of  slide  movement,  scale  ditto  : 
Pillow  blocks  for  supporting  said  axes,  full  size : 
Vibrating  piston,  with  metallic  packings  and  springs,  scale  3 

inches  to  the  foot : 
Side  view  and  transverse  section  of  pillow  blocks  for  piston  shaft, 

half  size : 
Top  view  of  ditto,  same  scale : 

Side  view  and  half  sectional  plan  of  main  pillow  block,  half  size  : 
Half  front  and  halfback  view,  two  end  views,  and  plan  of  main 

engine  frame,  scale  1J  inch  to  the  foot : 
Pillow  blocks  for  supporting  axes  of  reversing  gear,  full  size  : 
Forked  connecting  rod  for  reversing  motion,  full  size : 
Eccentrics,  eccentric  rods  and  strops,  scale  3  inches  to  the  foot: 
Links  for  slide  gear,  with  slide  and  brasses,  full  size  : 
Regular  slide,  cut  off  slide,  double  slide  cases,  starting  valve,  and 

guide  for  slide  movement,  scale  3  inches  to  the  foot: 
Air  pump  bucket,  valves,  piston-rod,  pump  head,  &c,  full  size  : 
Side  elevation  and  plan  of  air  pump,  scale  3  inches  to  the  foot: 
Coupling  link  for  air-pump  rod,  containing  three  joints,  full  size: 
Connecting  rod  for  giving  parallel  motion  to  ditto,  full  size  : 
Half  front  view,  half  back  view,  two  end  views,  and  plan  of  back 

frame  of  engine,  scale      inch  to  the  foot : 
Bracket  for  supporting  centres  of  parallel  motion,  with  double  pil- 
low blocks,  of  universal  adjustment,  full  size: 
Condenser,  valve  box,  foot-valve  and  door,  scale  1 J  inch  to  the 
foot : 

Delivery  valve  of  air-pump,  full  size  : 

Stuffing  boxes  for  piston  shaft,  full  size  : 

Coupling  links  of  reversing  gear,  full  size  : 

Reversing  screw,  with  handle,  guides,  and  index,  full  size  : 

Bracket  for  supporting  reversing  Spindle,  full  size  : 

Bracket  with  double  pillow-blocks  for  supporting  the  axes  of  slide 

motions,  full  size : 
Plunger  of  force  pump,  with  connecting  rod,  full  size : 


10  Rep.  No.  144. 


Double  crank  lever,  with  pins  for  moving  air-pumps  and  force- 
pumps,  full  size : 
Improved  Kingston  valve  for  injection  and  blowing  off,  full  size: 
Force-pump,  hot  well  and  air  vessel,  3  inch  scale  : 
Injection  valve  for  condenser,  full  size: 

Hand-gear  for  moving,  starting,  and  injection  valves,  with  pillow- 
blocks  and  indexes,  full  size  : 
Forward  stern  pillow  block  for  supporting  propeller-shaft,  3  inch 

scale : 

Aft  stern  pillow  block,  same  scale : 

Plan  and  side  elevation  of  engine  kelsons,  scale  one  half  inch  to 
the  foot : 

General  plan  of  engine  room,  showing  steam  connexions,  boilers, 
blowers,  heater,  water  pipes,  &c,  &c,  scale  one-half  inch  to 
the  foot: 

End  view,  foreshortened  view,  and  front  view  of  spiral  plates  of 

propeller,  L£  inch  scale  : 
Yertical  section  and  front  view  of  spiral  spokes,  hub,  and  hoop  of 

propeller,  l\  inch  scale: 
Transverse  section  through  the  centre  line  of  spiral  plates,  full 

size : 

General  plan  representing  the  longitudinal  section  and  end  view 
of  semi  cylinders,  piston  shafts,  crank  levers,  main  crank  and 
shaft,  slide-spindles,  centre  lines  and  slide  movements,  (fee,  (fee., 
scale  \\  inch  to  the  foot: 

The  above  forty-four  drawings,  with  the  various  sketches,  skele- 
ton plans,  and  diagrams  necessary  in  their  construction,  occupied 
135  days,  which,  at  the  rate  of  £5  a  day,  amounts  to  JW5;  being, 
at  $4  SO  exchange       ......  $3,240 

For  planning  the  boilers, sliding  chimney  and  mechanism,  centrif- 
ugal blowers,  and  engines  and  heating  apparatus. 

SPECIFICATION  OF  DRAWINGS. 

End  views  of  the  three  boilers,  and  transverse  and  longitudinal 

section  of  boiler?,  1  inch  scale: 
Sectional  plan  of  centre  and  wing  boiler,  1  inch  scale: 
Section  of  sliding  chimney,  I  inch  scale: 

Two  plans  of  mechanism  for  raising  and  depressing  chimney, 
full  size : 

Blow-off  and  stop-valves  for  boilers,  full  size: 
Five  doors,  full  size  : 
Ash  pit  doors,  full  size  : 

Air  chamber  placed  under  boilers  for  receiving  and  distributing 

blast  from  the  blowers  : 
Dampers,  with  gear  for  regulating  the  blast,  full  size  : 
General  plan  of  steam  pipes,  safety  valves,  steam  stop  valves,  &c. 

&c,  1  \  inch  scale  : 
Valve  boxes,  safety  valves,  and  steam  stop  valves,  full  size  : 
Two  plans  of  braces  with  straps  and  keys  for  securing  boilers, 

full  size : 


Rep.  No.  144. 


11 


Float,  wUh  levers,  spindle,  stuffing  box,  and  index,  to  show  the 

height  of  water  in  boilers,  full  size : 
Heating  apparatus  for  supplying  boilers  with  hot  water,  1^  inch 

scale : 

Slide  valve  and  mechanism  connected  with  heating  apparatus,  3 
inch  scale: 

Side  elevation,  plan,  &c,  of  small  steam  engine  for  working  blow- 
ers, 3  inch  scale : 

Detailed  plan  of  connecting  rod  and  other  working  parts  of  said 
engine,  full  size : 

Conical  steam  valve  for  ditto,  full  size : 

Fan  wheel,  axes,  and  pulley,  for  blower,  3  inch  scale : 

Eccentric  cases  and  bearings  for  ditto,  3  inch  scale: 

Tightening  pulley  with  gear  for  regulating  the  tension  of  the  bolt 
of  blower,  full  size: 

The  above  twenty  four  drawings  occupied  forty  six  days  in 
planning  and  constructing,  which,  at  £5  per  diem,  amounts  to 
£230;  being,  at  $4  80  to  the  pound       ...  -  $1,104 

For  planning  ship,  general  arrangement  of  engine^  rudder, 

SPECIFICATION   OF  DRAWINGS. 

Longitudinal  and  transverse  sections  of  ship,  side  elevation  of  pro- 
peller and  steam-machinery,  and  section  of  semi  cylindrical 
engine,  i  inch  scale  : 

Plan  of  construction  showing  the  ship's  horizontal  water  lines  and 
vertical  sections  below  water  line,  ^  inch  scale: 

Rudder  constructed  on  a  new  plan,  frame  composed  of  wrought 
iron  and  brass  filled  in  with  wood,  sides  of  copper  plate,  1  inch 
scale  : 

Rudder  post  of  wrought  iron  and  copper  secured  by  composition 

shoes  top  and  bottom,  1  inch  scale  : 
Frame  of  steering  apparatus,  3  inch  scale: 

Longitudinal  section  of  the  after  part  of  the  ship,  with  the  side 
elevation  of  boilers,  engines,  propeller,  shaft,  main  crank,  &c, 
^  inch  scale  : 

Stern  bearing  for  supporting  outer  end  of  the  propeller  shaft,  stuff- 
ing box;  and  copper  pipe  inserted  in  the  dead-wood  of  the  ship, 
1^  inch  scale  : 

Circular  railway  for  supporting  small  wrought  iron  gun,  and  top 

view  of  bed  for  supporting  gun  carriage,  i  inch  scale  : 
Railway  and  centre  piece  of  bow  gun,  1^  inch  scale  : 
Cast  iron  geometrical  staircase  for  engine  room  and  cabin,  plan 

of  detail  3  inch  scale,  general  plan  1  inch  scale  : 
Side  elevation  of  ship's  stern,  showing  rudder  post,  and  stern  post 

and  frame,  bolted  to  the  ship's  keel,  1  inch  scale: 

The  above  eleven  drawings,  with  the  various  sketches,  skeleton 
plans,  and  diagrams  necessary  in  their  construction,  occupied  54 
days,  which,  at  £o  a  day,  o£270,  amounts,  at  §4  SO  exchange,  to  $1,296 


12  Rep.  No.  144. 


Planning  wrought  iron  gun  carriages,  friction  gear^  revolving 
beds,  gunlocks,  <§~c,  fyc. 

SPECIFICATION  OF  DRAWINGS. 

Side  elevation,  top  view,  and  two  end  views,  with  centre  ring  and 

bolt,  of  revolving  bed  for  12-inch  guns,  1J  inch  scale: 
Side  elevation,  end  views,  and  plan  of  wrought  iron  carriage  for 

12  inch  English  wrought  gun,  1^  inch  scale  : 
Side  elevation  and  end  view  of  wrought  iron  carriage  for  12  inch 

cast  iron  gun,  1  \  inch  scale : 
Amended  plan  of  wrought  iron  carriage  for  12  inch  American 

wrought  iron  gun  : 
Truck  wheels,  bearing  brasses,  and  mechanism,  for  rolling  gun  in 

and  out  port  hole,  full  size  : 
Adjusting  screw  and  mechanism  for  elevating  and  depressing  12 

inch  guns,  full  size : 
Friction  gear  of  carriage  for  cast  iron  12  inch  guns,  full  size  \ 
Friction  gear  for  12  inch  English  wrought  iron  gun,  part  full  size, 

part  1^  inch  scire : 
Transverse  section  and  top  view  of  friction  beams  and  centre 

bolt  of  bed  for  American  wrought  12  inch  gun,  and  top  view  of 

friction  gear  for  ditto,  1|  inch  scale,  and  also  full  size  drawing 

of  friction  gear  for  the  same  : 
Friction  loop  and  friction  beams  of  cast  iron  12  inch  gun,  full  size : 
Forceps  and  lifter  for  handling  12  inch  balls,  full  size  : 
Plan  of  a  new  spirit  level  for  ascertaining  the  elevation  of  guns 

with  great  accuracy,  full  size  : 
Side  elevation,  vertical  section,  with  a  detached  view,  of  trunnion 

band  and  trunnions  of  American  12  inch  wrought  iron  gun,  1^ 

inch  scale : 

Vertical  section  of  after  part  of  breech  of  said  gun,  with  breech 

pin  and  pummelion,  fuJ-  size  : 
EiLsht  full  size  working  drawings  of  easing  and  mechanism  of 
i    self-acting  gun  lock: 

Side  elevation,  top  view,  and  end  view,  of  carronade  carriage, 

with  its  mechanism  in  detail,  3  inch  scale  : 
Detail  plan  of  wood  work  of  ditto,  3  inch  scale  : 
Full  size  drawing  of  friction  gear  of  ditto  : 

The  above  twenty-five  drawings  occupied  seventy-two  days, 
being,  at  £b  a  day,  £360,  and  exchange  at  $4  80        -  -  $1,728 

For  superintending  the  building  and  construction  of  the  vihole 
of  the  machinery,  the  plan  and  drawings  of  which  are  herein 
above  enumerated,  viz : 

AT  NEW  YORK. 

The  propeller,  boiler,  &c,  blowing  engines,  bed  and  friction  gear 
of  American  12  inch  gun,  and  boring  and  finishing  the  same  ; 
hooping  of  English  wrought  gun,  and  manufacturing  self  act- 
ing gun  locks  and  spirit  level. 


Rep.  No.  144. 


13 


AT  PHILADELPHIA. 

The  semi  cylindrical  steam  engine;  heating  apparatus,  rudder, 
&c. ;  steering  apparatus  ;  beds,  friction  gear,  and  wrought  iron 
carriages  of  English  wrought  guns  and  cast  iron  12  inch  gun  ; 
and  various  other  parts  appertaining  to  the  steam  machinery. 

AT  SANDY  HOOK. 

Fixing  and  adjusting  beds,  friction  gear  and  carriages,  gun  locks, 
spirit  level,  &c,  hooping  English  wrought  gun,  and  attending 
gun  practice. 

For  superintending  the  fixing  and  application  of  the  whole  of 
the  above  enumerated  steam  machinery  and  other  contrivances 
to  the  U.  S.  steamer  Princeton  :  and  attending  trials  of  steam 
machinery  ;  also,  correspondence  and  letters  of  instruction  to 
manufacturers,  fyc,  connected  with  the  above  named  work  : 

These  services  occupied  81  days,  which,  at       a  day,  amount 

to  £405,  and  at  $4  80  exchange,  to    -  $1,944 
Time  occupied  in  travelling  between  New  York  and  Philadel- 
phia, and  New  York  and  Sandy  Hook,  in  superintendence  and 
application  of  the  above  work,  &c,  &c,  thirty-two  days,  at  £5 
a  day,  £L6U,  amounting,  at  $4  80  exchange,  to         -  -  768 

(The  above  charge  of  J>o  sterling  per  day  includes  office  ex- 
penses, stationery,  instruments,  postages,  carrier's  charges,  cab- 
hire,  and  travelling  expenses  of  every  description.) 

For  services  rendered  in  inventing,  designing,  and  perfecting  the 
following  improvements  connected  with  the  arts  of  naval  icar- 
fare  and  with  steam-ships  of  war,  and  applied  to  the  U.  S. 
steamer  Princeton,  viz : 

The  heating  apparatus,  by  which  a  great  saving  of  fuel  is  ef- 
fected which  has  never  before  been  attained.: 

The  new  gun  carriage,  by  which  not  only  the  heaviest  piece  of 
ordnance  can  be  handled  by  a  few  men,  but  which  so  gradually 
checks  the  recoil  that  the  ship  receives  no  injurious  shock  : 

The  sliding  chimney  and  mechanism  by  which  that  great  desid- 
eratum, the  absence  of  a  projecting  chimney  in  a  ship  of  war, 
has  been  attained:  and 

The  spirit  level,  by  which  the  elevation  of  a  piece  of  ordnance 
may  be  readily  ascertained  with  the  utmost  precision  -  -  5,000 


$15,080 


Schedule  B. 

Navy  Department,  March  16,  1844. 
Sir:  I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  14th  instant,  with  an  account,  in 
duplicate,  for  compensation  for  inventing  and  superintending  the  machinery, 
&c,  of  the  U.  3.  ship  Princeton. 


/ 


14  Rep.  No.  144. 

The  account  has  been  referred  to  Captain  Stockton  for  a  report,  and 
when  that  is  furnished  an  answer  will  be  given  to  your  application. 

I  am,  very  respectfully,  yours, 

L.  WARRINGTON, 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  ad  interim. 

Capt.  J.  Ericsson,  Neio  York. 


Schedule  C, 

New  York,  4/?r?7  8,  1844. 
Sir  :  I  had  the  honor  to  receive  from  the  honorable  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  ad  interim,  under  date  of  the  16th  ultimo,  a  letter  acknowledging  the 
receipt  of  my  account,  transmitted  in  duplicate,  for  services  rendered  as 
engineer  in  planning  and  superintending  the  construction  of.  the  steam  ma- 
chinery of  the  United  States  steamer  Princeton,  and  tor  certain  inventions 
therein  specified. 

You  will  pardon  me  for  renewing  my  application  on  this  subject.  The 
great  length  of  time  which  I  devoted  to  this  work  compelled  me  to  incur 
pecuniary  liabilities  which  render  it  necessary  for  me  to  solicit  as  early  an 
attention  to  my  account  as  may  be  consistent  with  the  multiplicity  of  busi- 
ness which,  I  am  well  aware,  must  at  this  moment  press  upon  the  depart- 
ment. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

J.  ERICSSON. 

The  Hon.  J.  Y.  Mason, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy. 


Schedule  D. 

New  York,  May  8,  1844. 
Sir  :  On  the  8th  ultimo  1  had  the  honor  to  address  a  communication  to 
the  department,  calling  attention  to  my  account,  transmitted  on  the  10th 
March  to  the  honorable  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  ad  interim,  for  my  ser- 
vices as  engineer  in  planning  and  superintending  the  steam  machinery,  &c. 
of  the  United  States  steamer  Princeton,  and  for  certain  inventions  therein 
specified. 

As  a  month  has  now  elapsed,  and  I  have  received  no  acknowledgment  of 
the  receipt  of  the  latter  communication,  I  am  apprehensive  that  the  ab- 
sence of  an  express  appropriation  may  make  it  necessary  for  me  to  apply 
by  petition  to  Congress.  1  respectfully  solicit,  therefore,  from  the  depart- 
ment, such  information  as  may  enable  me  to  judge  of  the  propriety  or  neces- 
sity of  making  such  an  application. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

J.  ERICSSON. 

The  Hon.  John  Y.  Mason, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy. 


Rep.  No.  144.  15 


Schedule  E. 

Navy  Department,  May  10,  1844. 

Sir  :  Your  letter  of  the  8th  instant  is  received.  The  subject  of  your 
claim  for  compensation  has  been  referred  to  Captain  Stockton,  and  the  de- 
partment it  awaiting  his  report.  When  received,  you  shall  be  informed  of 
its  decision. 

1  am  respectfully  yours, 

J.  Y.  MASON. 

Capt.  J.  Ericsson,  New  York. 


Schedule  F. 

Navy  Department,  May  11,  1844. 

Sir  :  A  letter  has  this  day  been  received  from  Captain  Stockton,  which 
contains  the  following  paragraph  in  relation  to  your  claim: 

"  In  regard  to  Captain  Ericsson's  bill,  which  was  sent  to  me  at  the  same 
time,  I  must  say  that,  with  all  my  desire  to  serve  him,  I  cannot  approve  his 
bill :  it  is  in  direct  violation  of  our  agreement,  as  far  as  it  is  to  be  considered 
a  legal  claim  upon  the  department." 

With  such  an  unfavorable  expression  of  opinion,  the  department  cannot 
allow  your  claim. 

I  am  respectfully  yours, 

J.  Y.  MASON. 

Capt.  J.  Ericsson,  New  York. 


Schedule  G. 


United  States  op  America, 
Eastern  district  of  Pennsylvania, 


Samuel  V.  Merrick  and  John  Henry  Towne,  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
in  the  district  aforesaid,  civil  engineers  and  engine  manufacturers,  being 
duly  sworn,  each  for  himself  doth  depose  and  say  as  follows,  to  wit:  that 
they  were  employed  by  the  Navy  Department  of  the  United  States  to  con- 
struct the  steam  machinery  and  gun  carriages,  geometrical  staircases, 
frame  of  steering  apparatus,  rudder,  rudder  post,  &c,  for  the  United  States 
steamer  Princeton,  under  the  direction  of  Captain  Robert  F.  Stockton. 
And  these  deponents  further  say,  that  the  said  steam  machinery  and  gun 
carriages  were  built  from  the  drawings  hereinafter  enumerated,  designed 
and  furnished  to  them  by  Captain  Ericsson  of  the  city  of  New  York,  civil 
engineer,  and  that  the  whole  of  said  work  was  commenced  and  completed  ac- 
cording to  said  plans,  and  in  obedience  to  the  instructions,  oral  and  in 
writing,  furnished  to  them  by  the  said  Captain  Ericsson,  to  whom  they 
were  referred  by  Captain  Stockton  for  the  drawings  and  instructions  for  the 
said  steam  machinery  and  gun  carriages.  And  these  deponents  further 
say,  that  the  said  work  was  commenced  in  the  month  of  January,  in  the 
year  1842,  when  they  received  the  first  of  the  said  drawings  made  by  the 


16  Rep.  No.  144. 


said  Captain  Ericsson,  and  was  completed  in  the  month  of  November,  or 
thereabouts,  in  the  year  1843  ;  and  that  during  the  whole  period  intermedi- 
ate the  said  dates  the  said  Captain  Ericsson  gave  instructions  orally  and  by 
letter,  and  furnished  the  drawings  of  each  and  every  part  of  the  said  steam 
machinery,  and  gun  carriages,  &c,  and  was  occupied  when  in  Philadelphia 
in  the  superintendence  of  the  said  work.  And  these  deponents  further  say, 
that  the  said  Captain  Ericsson  furnished  the  plans  showing  how  the  said 
machinery  was  to  be  applied  to  the  said  ship,  and  directed  the  manner  of 
fixing  the  same  on  board.  And  these  deponents  further  say,  that  the  fol- 
lowing is  a  correct  list  of  the  drawings  for  the  said  work  executed  and  fur- 
nished by  the  said  Ericsson,  and  now  in  the  possession  of  these  deponents, 
at  their  works  in  Philadelphia,  in  the  district  aforesaid  : 

Piston  shafts,  crank  levers  and  pins,  scale  1 J  inch  to  the  foot : 
Crank  shaft,  main  crank  and  pin,  propeller  shaft  and  clutch  boxes,  scale  ditto : 
Larboard  semi  cylinder,  end  plates,  covers,  centre  piece  and  guide  rings, 
scale  ditto  : 

Larboard  connecting  rod  complete,  scale  3  inches  to  the  foot: 
Quadrant  double  and  single  crank  levers  and  axes  of  reversing  motion, 
scale  ditto : 

Axes  and  cranks  of  slide  movement,  scale  ditto  : 
Pillow  blocks  for  supporting  said  axes,  full  size : 

Vibrating  piston  with  metallic  packings  and  springs,  scale  3  inches  to  the 
foot : 

Side  view  and  transverse  section  of  pillow  blocks  for  piston  shaft,  half  size  : 
Top  view  of  ditto,  same  scale  : 

Side  view  and  half  sectional  plan  of  main  pillow  block,  half  size  : 

Half  front  and  half  back  view,  two  end  views  and  plan  of  main  engine 

frame,  scale  1^  inch  to  the  foot : 
Pillow  blocks  for  supporting  axes  of  reversing  gear,  full  size  : 
Forked  connecting  rod  for  reversing  motion,  full  size  : 
Eccentrics,  eccentric  rods  and  strops,  scale  3  inches  to  the  foot: 
Links  for  slide  gear  with  slide  and  brasses,  full  size: 
Regular  slide,  cut  off  slide,  double  slide  cases,  starting  valve,  and  guide  for 

slide  movement,  scale  3  inches  to  the  foot: 
Air  pump  bucket,  valves,  piston  rod,  pump  head,  &c,  full  size  : 
Side  elevation  and  plan  of  air  pump,  scale  3  inches  to  the  foot : 
Coupling  link  for  air  pump  rod,  containing  three  joints,  full  size  : 
Connecting  rod  for  giving  parallel  motion  to  ditto,  full  size  : 
Half  front  view,  halfback  view,  two  end  views,  and  plan  of  back  frame  of 

engine,  scale  li  inch  to  the  foot: 
Bracket  for* supporting  centres  of  parallel  motion,  with  double  pillow  blocks 

of  universal  adjustment,  full  size: 
Condenser,  valve  box,  foot  valve  and  door,  scale  1 J  inch  to  the  foot: 
Delivery  valve  of  air  pump,  full  size  : 
Stuffing  boxes  for  piston  shaft,  full  size  : 
Coupling  links  of  reversing  gear,  full  size: 
Reversing  screw  with  handle,  guides  and  index,  full  size  : 
Bracket  for  supporting  reversing  spindle,  full  size: 

Bracket  with  double  pillow  blocks  for  supporting  the  axes  of  slide  motions, 
full  size : 

Plunger  of  force  pump  with  connecting  rod,  full  size  : 


Rep.  No.  144. 


17 


Efouble  crank  lever  with  pins  for  moving  air  pumps,  and  force  pumps, 
full  size : 

Improved  Kingston  valve  for  injection  and  blowing  off,  full  size  : 
Force  pump,  hot  well  and  air  vessel,  three  inch  scale  : 
Injection  valve  for  condenser,  full  size  : 

Hand  gear  for  moving,  starting  and  injection  valves  with  pillow  blocks  and 
indexes,  full  size : 

Forward  stern  pillow  block  for  supporting  propeller  shaft,  three  inch  scale  : 
Aft  stern  pillow  block,  same  scale  : 

Plan  and  side  elevation  of  engine  kelsons,  scale  ^  inch  to  the  foot : 
General  plan  of  engine  room,  showing  steam  connexions,  boilers,  blowers, 

heater,  water  pipes,  (fee,  <fcc;  scale  ^  inch  to  the  foot : 
Heating  apparatus  for  supplying  boilers  with  hot  water,      inch  scale: 
Slide  valve  and  mechanism  connected  with  heating  apparatus,  3  inch  scale  : 
Rudder  constructed  on  a  new  plan,  frame  composed  of  wrought  iron  and 

brass  filled  in  with  wood,  sides  of  copper  plate,  1  inch  scale: 
.Rudder  post  of  wrought  iron  and  copper,  secured  by  composition  shoes,  top 

and  bottom,  1  inch  scale : 
Frame  of  steering  apparatus,  3  inch  scale  : 

Stern  bearing  for  supporting  outer  end  of  the  propeller  shaft,  stuffing  box, 
and  copper  pipe  inserted  in  the  dead-wood  of  the  ship,  1 J  inch  scale : 

Circular  railway  for  supporting  small  wrought  iron  gun,  and  top  views  of 
bed  for  supporting  gun  carriage,  ^  inch  scale  : 

Railway  and  centre  piece  of  bow  gun,  1^  inch  scale  : 

Cast-iron  geometrical  staircase  for  engine  room  and  cabin,  plan  of  detail 
3  inch  scale,  general  plan  1  inch  scale. 

Side  elevation,  top  view,  and  two  end  views,  with  centre  ring  and  bolt  of  re- 
volving bed  for  12  inch  guns,  1^  inch  scale: 

Side  elevation,  tind  views,  and  plan  of  wronght-iron  carriage  for  12-inch 
English  wrought  gun,  l^inch  scale  : 

Side  elevation  and  end  view  of  wrought- iron  carriage  for  12  inch  cast-iron 
gun,  1 J  inch  scale  : 

Amended  plan  of  wrought  iron  carriage  for  12  inch  American  wrought 
iron  gun : 

Truck  wheels  bearing  brasses  and  mechanism  for  rolling  gun  in  and  out 

port  hole,  full  size  : 
Adjusting  crew  and  mechanism  for  elevating  and  depressing  12  inch  guns, 

full  size : 

Friction  gear  of  carriages  for  cast-iron  12  inch  guns,  full  size: 
Friction  hoop  and  friction  beams  of  cast-iron  12  inch  gun,  full  size 

S.  V.  MERRICK, 
J.  HENRY  TOWNE. 

Sworn  and  subscribed  on  this  10th  day  of  May,  A.  D.  1844,  before  me. 

GEO.  GRISCOM,  Alderman] 


Schedule  H. 


United  States  op  America,  ) 
Southern  district  of  New  York)  \  ' 


Peter  Hogg  and  Cornelius  Delamater,  engineers  and  engine  manufaetar- 


18  Rep.  No.  144. 


ers  at  the  Phoenix  foundry,  at  260  West  street,  in  the  city  of  New  York", 
in  the  district  aforesaid,  being  duly  sworn,  each  for  himself,  doth  depose 
and  say:  that  they  were  engaged  in  the  said  establishment,  in  the  employ 
of  James  Cunningham,  the  said  Peter  Hogg  as  superintendent,  and  the  said 
Cornelius  Delamater  as  clerk,  when  the  said  James  Cunningham  was  em- 
ployed by  the  Navy  Department  of  the  United  States,  under  the  direction 
of  Captain  Robert  F.  Stockton,  in  constructing  the  steam  boilers,  the  pro- 
peller, blowing  engines  and  centiifugal  blowers,  sliding  chimneys  and  the 
mechanism  of  the  same,  of  the  United  States  steamer  Princeton.  And 
these  deponents  further  say,  that  the  said  work  was  commenced  by  the  said 
James  Cunningham  in  the  month  of  January,  A.  D.  1842;  and  that  the 
said  Cunningham,  before  its  completion,  sold  out  his  interest  in  the  business 
of  the  said  Phoenix  foundry  to  these  deponents,  and  that  the  said  work 
was  completed  by  them  for  the  said  Cunningham,  and,  during  its  whole 
progress  and  manufacture,  came  under  their  immediate  charge  and  super- 
vision. And  these  deponents  further  say,  that  the  said  Cunningham  has 
left  the  city  of  New  York,  and  resides  in  the  city  of  Boston  or  thereabouts, 
in  the  State  of  Massachusetts.  And  these  deponents  further  say,  that  they 
were  themselves  employed  by  the  Navy  Department  of  the  United  States, 
through  Captain  Robert  F.  Stockton,  to  repair  and  boop  the  English 
wrought  iron  gun,  to  repair  the  wrought  iron  gun  carriages,  to  make  a 
new  bed  and  friction  gear  for  American  wrought  iron  gnu,  to  construct 
the  self  acting  gun  locks,  and  spirit  level  for  levelling  ordnance,  and  to  bore 
and  finish  the  American  wrought  iron  gun  for  the  said  steamer  Princeton. 
And  these  deponents  further  say,  that  the  said  work  was  completed  in  the 
month  of  January,  in  the  year  1844,  or  thereabouts.  And  these  deponents 
further  say,  that  during  the  period  intermediate  the  said  month  of  January, 
1842,  and  the  said  month  of  January,  1S44,  the  work  her  in  before  describ- 
ed was  constructed  at  the  said  Phcenix  foundry  under  the  personal  super- 
intendence and  instructions  of  Captain  John  Ericsson,  of  the  said  city  of 
New  York,  civil  engineer,  and  altogether,  in  all  its  details,  from  plans  and 
drawings  furnished  and  executed  by  him.  And  these  deponents  further 
say,  that  the  list  annexed  is  a  correct  enumeration  of  the  said  plans  and 
drawings,  after  which  the  said  machinery  hereinbefore  described  was  con- 
structed, and  that  the  same  are  now  in  the  hands  of  these  deponents  at, 
the  Phcenix  foundry,  in  the  said  city  of  New  York : 

End  view,  fore-shortened  view,  and  front  view  of  spiral  plates  of  propel- 
ler, 1£  inch  scale  ; 

Vertical  section  and  front  view  of  spiral  spokes,  hub,  and  hoop  of  propeller, 
1£  inch  scale ; 

Transverse  section  through  the  centre  line  of  spiral  plates,  full  size  ; 

Fuel  views  of  the  three  boilers,  and  transverse  and  longitudinal  section  of 

boilers,  1  inch  scale  ; 
Sectional  plan  of  centre  and  wing  boiler,  1  inch  scale; 
Section  oi  sliding  chimney,  1  inch  scale; 

Two  plans  of  mechanism  for  raising  and  depressing  chimney,  full  siz-*  ; 
Blow-off  and  stop  valves  for  bcilers,  full  size  ; 
Five  doors,  full  l  iz  ; 
A  h  pft  doors,  full  size  : 

Air  chamber  placed  under  boilers,  for  receiving  and  distributing  blast  from 
the  blowers  ; 


Rep.  No.  144.  19 

Dampers  with  gear  for  regulating  the  blast,  full  size  ; 
General  plan  of  steam  pipes,  safety-valves,  steam  stop-valves.  &c,  &c.,  1| 
inch  scale ; 

Valve  boxes,  safety-valves,  and  steam  stop- valves,  full  size  ; 

Two  plans  of  braces,  with  straps  and  keys  for  securing  boilers,  full  size; 

Float,  with  levers,  spindle,  stuffing-box,  and  index,  to  show  the  height  of 

water  in  boilers,  full  size  ; 
Side  elevation,  plan,  &c.,of  small  steam  engine  for  working  blowers,  3 

inch  scale ; 

Derailed  plan  of  connecting  rod  and  other  working  parts  of  said  engine, 
full  size ; 

Conical  steam  valve  for  ditto,  full  size  ; 

Fan  wheel,  axes  and  pulley  for  blower,  3  inch  scale  ; 

Eccentric  cases  and  bearings  (or  ditto,  3  inch  scale; 

Tightening  pulley  with  gear  for  regulating  the  tension  of  the  bolt  of  blow- 
er, full  size  ; 

Ft iction  gear  lor  12  inch  English  wrought  iron  gun,  part  full  size,  part  1^ 
inch  scale 

Transverse  section  and  top  view  of  friction  beams  and  centre  bolts  of  bed 
for  American  wrought  12  inch  gun,  and  top  view  of  friction  gear  for  ditto, 
1  |  inch  scale,  and  also  full  size  drawing  of  friction  gear  for  the  same; 

Forceps  and  lifter  for  handling  12  inch  balls,  full  size  ; 

Plan  of  a  new  spirit  level  for  ascertaining  the  elevation  of  guns  with  great 
accuracy,  full  size ; 

Side  elevation,  vertical  section,  with  a  detached  view  of  trunnion  band  and 
uuunions  of  American  12  inch  wrought  iron  gun,  U  inch  scale  ; 

Yertical  section  of  after  part  of  breech  of  said  gun,  with  breech  pin  and 
pummelion,  full  size  ; 

Eight  full  size  working  drawings  of  casing  and  mechanism  of  self-acting 
gun-lock. 

Side  elevation,  top  view,  and  end  view  of  carronade  carriage,  with  its 
mechanism  in  detail,  3  inch  scale  ; 

Detail  plan  of  wood- work  of  ditto,  3  inch  scale  ; 

Full  size  drawing  of  friction  gear  of  ditto. 

PETER  HOGG, 
CORNELIUS  DELAMATER. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me  by  C.  Delamater  and  Peter  Hogg 
this  14th  day  ol  May.  1844. 

GEO.  W.  MORTON, 
Deputy  Clerk  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States 

for  the  souther 7i  district  of  New  York, 

and  United  States  Commissioner. 


[Schedules  1,  J,  and  K  are  additional  affidavits,  not  referred  to  in  ihe  merrier;  •  I.J 

Schedule  I. 

United  States  of  America.  ) 

>  *?s 

Southern  district  of  New  York,  ) 

William  A.  Cox,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  in  the  district  aforesaid,  being 
duly  sworn,  doth  depose  and  say  that  he  is  a  consulting  civil  and  mechanical 


20  Rep.  No.  144. 

engineer,  and  is  conversant  with  the  construction  of  mechanical  drawings 
and  the  getting  up  plans  of  machinery  of  every  description,  and  with  the 
fees  and  charges  commonly  made  in  the  engineering  profession,  and  is  well 
acquainted  with  the  professional  standing  of  Captain  Ericsson  in  this  coun- 
try, and,  through  the  foreign  scientific  journals,  with  his  standing  in  Eu- 
rope. And  this  deponent  saith  that  a  per  diem  charge  of  five  pounds 
made  by  Captain  Ericsson  is  a  very  fair  and  reasonable  charge  for  such  ser- 
vices as  are  enumerated  in  said  bill,  according  to  the  usages  of  the  engi- 
neering profession.  And  this  deponent  saith  that  he  is  acquainted  with  the 
construction  and  arrangement  of  the  four  inventions  and  improvements 
specified  by  Captain  Ericsson  in  his  said  bill,  that  is  to  say  :  firstly,  the  new 
gun  carraige.  which  enables  a  few  men  to  manipulate  the  heaviest  piece  of 
ordnance,  and  which  gradually  checks  the  recoil  so  as  to  save  the  ship  from 
any  injurious  shock ;  secondly,  the  sliding  chimney,  a  contrivance  by  which 
the  most  vulnerable  part  of  a  steam  ship  is  rendered  comparatively  safe  from 
shot ;  thirdly,  the  spirit  level,  by  which  a  piece  of  ordnance  can  be  aimed 
with  much  greater  precision  than  has  hitherto  been  attained,  and  which,  if 
viewed  with  reference  to  its  accuracy,  and  the  facility,  quickness,  and  safety 
with  which  it  can  be  used,  may  be  said  to  change  entirely  the  character  of 
gun  practice;  and,  fourthly,  the  apparatus  for  heating  the  water  fed  to  the 
boilers,  which  saves  a  large  proportion  of  fuel,  and  enables  the  engineer, 
when  at  sea,  to  "blow  off"  very  freely,  and  prevent  the  water  from  acquiring 
such  a  degree  of  saltness  as  wculd  injure  the  material  of  the  boilers  and 
obstruct  the  passage  of  the  heat.  This  last  invention  is  of  such  impor- 
tance that  this  deponent  has  entered  into  a  calculation  of  its  advantages  as 
used  in  the  Princeton,  the  result  of  which  is,  that  when  one-half  of  the 
quantity  of  water  fed  to  the  boilers  is  blown  off.  as  it  should  be,  for  the 
reasons  before  stated,  the  saving  in  fuel  is  about  twenty-five  per  cent.,  and 
this  saving  is  effected  by  a  diminution  of  only  about  two  per  cent,  of  the 
power  of  the  engines — all  of  which  is  shown  more  fully  by  a  diagram  ap- 
pended hereto.  And  this  deponent  saith  that  he  considers  the  said  inven- 
tions, which  he  believes  to  be  altogether  novel,  so  valuable  and  important  in 
their  application  to  the  purposes  for  which  they  are  designed,  that  the 
amount  charged  by  the  petitioner  is  much  smaller  than  he  would  be  fairly 
and  justly  entitled  to  receive  for  the  same  from  the  government,  and  much 
less  than  an  adequate  remuneration  for  the  time,  labor,  and  science  expend- 
ed upon  the  same  by  the  petitioner. 

WILLIAM  A.  COX. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  ihis  16th  day  of  December,  1844,  before  me. 

GEO.  W.  MORTON, 
Dep.  Clerk  Circuit  Court  U.  S.  and  U.  S.  Conimisioner,  fyc. 


Rep.  No.  144.  *l 


Diagram  to  illustrate  a  calculation  of  the  saving  in  fuel  effected  by  the 
heating  apparatus  in  the  U.  S.  steam  ship  Princeton,  and  referred  to  in 
the  foregoing  affidavit. 


Steam  cut  off  at  J  of  the  stroke. 

Valve  communicating  with  the  heating  apparatus  b;  gins  to  open  at  £  of  tke 
stroke. 

One-half  of  the  volume  of  steam  is  admitted  to  the  heating  apparatus. 
The  power  exerted  by  the  engine  is  shown  comparatively  by  that  part  of 

the  diagram  shaded  with  black  :  it  is  equal  to  JJths,  or  98  per  cent,  of 

the  whole  power  of  the  steam. 
Loss  of  power  consequent  upon  the  use  of  the  heating  apparatus  shown  by 

the  part  shaded  with  blue,  and  equal  to      or  2  per  cent. 
Of  the  water  pumped  into  the  boilers,  one-half  is  converted  into  steam  and 

one-half  "  blown  off." 
If  the  heating  apparatus  raised  the  water  which  enters  the  boilers  to  the 

same  temperature  as  that  which  is  "blown  off,"  the  saving  in  fuel  would 

be  T*j;  but  inasmuch  as  there  is  a  difference  of  temperature  of  about  2U° 

Fall.,  the  saving  is  reduced  to     very  nearly,  or  about  25  per  cent. 
Loss,  as  before  shown         -  -  -  2  "  " 

Net  gain     -  -         -         -         -     23  "  " 

WILLIAM  A,  COX. 

New  York,  Dec.  1G,  1844. 


22         .  Rep.  No.  144. 


- 

es  of  Ami 


Schedule  J. 


United  States  of  America, 

Southern  district  of  New  York, 
James  J.  Mapes,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  in  the  district  aforesaid,  being 
duly  sworn,  doth  depose  and  say,  that  he  has  carefully  examined  the  bill 
rendered  to  the  Navy  Department  by  Captain  Ericsson  for  his  services  in 
connexion  with  the  war  steamer  Princeton,  and  for  the  inventions  in  said 
bill  mentioned.  And  this  deponent  further  saith,  that  he  is  by  profession  a 
consulting  engineer,  and  has  been  long  familiar  with  machinery  and  me- 
chanical drawings,  and  is  well  acquainted  with  the  customary  fees  and 
charges  of  the  engineering  profession,  and  with  the  professional  reputation 
of  the  petitioner.  And  this  deponent  further  sniih,  that  soon  after  the  com- 
pletion of  the  Princeton  this  deponent  visited  said  ship  as  a  member  of  the 
committee  of  the  American  institute,  for  the  purpose  of  making  an  examina- 
tion and  report  upon  the  steam  machinery,  armament,  (fee,  of  said  ship, 
and  for  this  purpose  did  make  a  thorough  and  critical  examination  of  the 
same,  and  embodied  the  results  of  his  observation  in  the  report  hereunto 
annexed,  and  which  this  deponent  desires  to  make  a  part  of  his  affidavit. 
And  this  deponent  further  saith,  that  the  said  report  presents,  in  his  judg- 
ment, a  candid  and  fair  statement  of  the  merits  of  Captain  Ericsson  as  con- 
structor of  the  engine,  steam  machinery,  and  armament  of  the  said  Prince- 
ton. And  this  deponent  further  saith,  that  a  per  diem  charge  of  five  pounds, 
exclusive  of  travelling  expenses,  would  not  be  a  compensating  charge  for 
the  services  enumerated  in  said  bill,  as  a  lifetime  is  required  to  prepare  for 
such  services,  and  the  employ  is  not  constant.  And  this  deponent  nuther 
saith.  that,  in  his  judgment,  there  is  no  other  engineer  in  this  country  so 
capable  as  Captain  Ericsson  for  iuch  service,  and  that  his  charges  are 
much  less  than  would  have  been  made  by  many  engineers  of  less  ability. 
And  this  deponent  further  saith,  that,  in  his  judgment,  the  sum  of  fifteen 
thousand  dollars  is  a  very  moderate,  if  not  an  altogether  inadequate,  remu- 
neration for  services  of  such  variety  and  extent  as  have  been  rendered  by 
Captain  Ericsson  in  the  construction  of  the  said  steam-ship  Princeton.  And 
this  deponent  further  saith,  that  the  four  inventions  specified  in  said  bill, 
and  which  this  deponent  believes  to  be  entirely  novel  inventions,  and  cal- 
culated to  insure  complete  success  when  opposed  to  any  other  known  ar- 
rangement in  naval  warfare,  are,  in  deponent's  judgment,  of  such  great 
value  and  importance  in  their  application  to  the  purposes  of  the  national 
de/ence3  that  their  author  would  be  fairly  entitled  for  the  said  inventions 
alone  to  make  a  charge  eqwA  to  the  total  amount  of  his  bill,  and  that  they 
would  be  cheaply  purchased  by  the  government  for  that  sum. 

JAMES  J.  MAPES. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  by  James  J.  Mapes,  before  me,  this  16th  day  of 
December,  1844. 

GEO.  W.  MORTON, 
Dep.  Clerk  Circuit,  Court  U.  S.  and  U.  S.  Commissioner. 


Rep.  No.  144. 


23 


[Report  referred  tu  in  the  foregoing  affidavit  of  James  J.  Mapes.] 

REPORT  Oi\  THE  STEAM  FRIGATE  PRINCETON. 

The  Committee  of  the  American  Institute,  to  whom  was  referred  the  exam- 
ination of  the  .steam  frig-ate  Princeton,  respectfully  report : 

That,  having  met  and  added  to  their  number  several  scientific  and  nau- 
tical gentlemen,  they  proceeded  to  the  Brooklyn  navy  yard,  where  the  ship 
had  gone  to  avoid  the  floating  ice  of  the  North  river.  . 

The  commander  of  the  Princeton  was  absent,  but  had  left  instructions 
with  his  first  lieutenant,  (Mr.  Hunt,)  his  other  officers,  and  the  engineers 
belonging  to  the  ship;  through  the  politeness  and  attention  of  whom  your 
committee  were  enabled  to  examine  all  the  details  of  the  ship,  engine,  and 
armament. 

The  ship  is  164  feet  in  length,  30  feet  beam,  22  feet  hold,  making  her 
about  700  tons  measurement.  She  draws  17  feet  of  water  aft.  and  14-^  feet 
forward.  The  peculiarity  of  her  construction  is  great  sharpness  of  entrance 
and  run,  with  nearly  fiat  floors  midships,  which  effectually  prevent  her  be- 
ing crank,  notwithstanding  the  great  weight  of  her  battery. 

The  rao*t  obvious  peculiarity  of  the  Princeton's  model  is  the  great  extent 
of  her  dead-wood,  terminating  with  a  stern-post  of  unusual  thickness,  being 
twenty  six  inches  through  at  the  centre  of  the  propeller  shaft,  but  tapering 
both  above  and  below.  "The  object  of  this  uncommon  form  is  to  give  suffi- 
cient strength  to  the  stern-post,  as  a  hole  of  thirteen  inches  diameter 
passes  through  it,  in  which  the  propeller  shaft  revolves.  The  stern-post 
also  requires  unusual  strength,  because  the  bearing  which  supports  the 
whole  weight  of  the  propeller  is  attached  to  it,  the  shaft  having  no  bearing 
abaft  the  propeller.  The  rudder  is  of  an  entirely  novel  construction,  con- 
sisting of  a  frame  of  wrought  iron,  filled  in  with  five  inch  pine  plank,  the 
whole  of  which  is  cased  with  copper  plates,  three-sixteenths  of  an  inch 
thick,  thus  making  the  entire  thickness  of  the  rudder  five  inches  and  three- 
eighths.  The  mode  of  supporting  the  rudder  is  equally  novel.  It  is  hung 
to  an  outrigger  of  wrought  iron,  covered  with  half  inch  copper  plate,  the 
upper  part  being  attached  to  a  strong  oak  knee  under  the  counter,  and  the 
lower  part  being  attached  to  a  solid  frame  of  oak  timber,  three  feet  six  inches 
wide,  and  fourteen  inches  deep,  firmly  bolted  to  the  after  part  of  the  keel 
and  dead-wood  of  the  ship.  The  thickness  of  the  outrigger  is  five  and 
three-eighths  inches,  the  same  with  that  of  the  rudder,  measuring  two  feet 
fore  and  aft ;  the  forward  part  being  made  as  sharp  as  a  ploughshare. 
This  sharpness,  and  the  thinness  of  the  rudder,  prevent  the  current  pro- 
duced by  the  propeiler  from  retarding  the  progress  of  the  ship. 

Your  committee  examined,  with  particular  interest  and  attention,  the 
steam  engine  of  the  Princeton,  which  excited  their  admiration,  no  less  by 
the  novelty  of  its  construction  than  by  the  perfect  symmetry  and  beauty  of 
its  proportions.  It  is  styled,  by  the  inventor  and  patentee,  (Captain  Erics- 
son,) the  Semi-Cylindrical  Steam  Engine."  It  has  been  constructed,  ap- 
parently, with  two  main  objects — that  of  being  placed  entirely  below  the 
water  line,  and  of  giving  a  direct  motion  to  the  propeller  shaft,  which  re- 
quires a  greater  velocity  than  can  be  obtained  by  the  ordinary  engine. 
These  objects  have  been  fully  accomplished  ;  indeed,  so  compact  is  the  en. 
gine,  that  its  highest  point  is  placed  more  than  four  feet  below  the  water 


24 


Rep.  No.  144. 


line,  and  so  far  below  the  berth  deck  that  it  affords  space  for  lodging  from 
two  to  three  feet  of  coal  above  it,  as  well  as  on  the  sides. 

The  peculiarity  of  this  engine  consists  in  the  use  of  semi-cylinders,  in- 
stead of  entire  cylinders.  These  semi  cylinders  are  72  inches  in  diameter, 
and  eight  feet  long.  The  pistons  are  parallelograms,  attached  to  wrought 
iron  shafts,  forming  the  axis  of  the  semi-cylinders,  and  are  made  to  vibrate 
through  an  arc  of  90  degrees,  by  the  admission  of  steam  alternately  on  op- 
posite sides,  ordinary  slide  valves  being  employed  for  that  purpose.  The 
piston  shafts  pass  through  stuffing  boxes  at  each  end  of  the  semi  cylinders; 
and  at  the  forward  ends,  crank  levers  of  34  inches  throw  are  attached, 
which,  by  means  of  connecting  rods  only  74  inches  in  length,  give  motion 
to  the  main  crank  of  the  propeller  shaft.  The  active  surface  in  each  piston 
measures  ninety-six  inches  by  twenty  six,  presenting  an  area  of  two  thou- 
sand four  hundred  and  ninety-six  inches.  The  centre  of  pressurejof  each 
piston  moves  through  an  arc  of  precisely  thirty-six  inches,  and  thus  the 
Princeton's  engines  have  equal  power  with  two  ordinary  marine  engines 
having  cylinders  of  56f  inches  diameter  and  three  feet  stroke. 

At  the  opposite  ends  of  the  piston  shafts,  crank  levers  of  16  inches  throw 
are  attached,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  motion  to  the  air  pumps  and  force 
pumps.  Your  committee  cannot  refrain  from  noticing  particularly  the  in- 
genious disposition  of  the  working  parts  connected  with  these  pumps,  and 
the  remarkably  simple  mode  by  which  the  requisite  parallel  movements 
are  obtained. 

The  maximum  speed  of  the  engines  is  thirty-seven  revolutions  per 
minute.  The  maximum  pressure  of  steam  in  the  boilers  is  twenty-five 
pounds  to  the  square  inch  ;  and  the  steam  in  the  semi-cylinders  is  invaria- 
bly cutoff  at  one-third  of  the  stroke.  The  greatest  speed  of  the  vessel,  as 
ascertained  by  Captain  Stockton,  in  the  Delaware,  has  been  nearly  fourteen 
statute  miles  per  hour.  At  the  ordinary  speed  of  twelve  miles,  the  con- 
sumption of  fuel  has  been  found  to  be  eighteen  hundred  pounds  per  hour. 

It  is  necessary  only  to  allude  to  the  propeller  of  the  Princeton,  con- 
structed by  Capt.  Ericsson,  and  identical  with  that  now  so  successfully 
employed  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  This  propeller  is  manufactured 
of  composition  metal.  Its  extreme  diameter  is  14  feet,  and  the  upper 
part  is  lull  3  feet  below  the  water  line. 

The  boilers  of  the  Princeton  are  also  placed  below  the  water  line,  and 
resemble  those  of  the  ordinary  marine  engines  ;  but  their  furnaces  and  flues 
are  so  constructed  as  to  burn  anthracite  as  well  as  bituminous  coal. 

Attached  to  the  boiler  is  a  hearing  apparatus  possessing  very  remarkable 
properties,  by  which  the  water  feeding  the  boilers  is  constantly  heated  be- 
fore entering  the  same.  Ycoir  committee  view  this  apparatus  as  perhaps 
the  greatest  improvement  of  which  the  low  pressure  engine  for  ship  use  is 
susceptible.  It  not  only  continually  supplies  the  boiler  with  hot  water,  but 
enables  the  engineer,  when  at  sea,  to  "blow off"  very  freel/.  without  any 
material  loss  of  pressure  or  expenditure  of  fuel. 

The  smoke  pipe  of  the  Princeton  is  constructed  upon  the  princip,oof  the 
telescope,  and  may  be  elevated  in  lighting  the  fires,  or  when  it  is  desirai.> 
to  work  the  engines  with  natural  draught.  The  contrivance  made  for  this 
purpose  is  efficient,  being  a  simple  application  of  the  endless  screw,  turned 
by  a  crank  ;  and  it  enables  two  men  to  raise  and  lower  the  chimney  with 
great  facility,  precluding  the  possibility  of  an  accident  from  negligence,  as 
the  smoke  r  ipe  will  remain  stationary  whenever  the  men  at  the  hoisting 


Rep.  No.  144. 


25 


apparatus  discontinue  working  it.  The  successful  introduction  of  this 
sliding  smoke  pipe,  and  the  means  for  elevating  and  depressing  it,  must  be 
considered  a  complete  solution  of  one  of  the  many  problems  connected 
with  naval  warfare  hitherto  unsolved. 

The  fire  draught  is  independent  of  the  height  of  the  smoke  pipe,  being 
promoted  by  centrifugal  blowers  placed  in  the  bottom  of  the  vessel,  and 
worked  by  separate  small  engines.  Thus  the  steam  machinery  of  the 
Princeton  realizes  all  that  can  be  desired  for  a  war  steamer,  as  the  whole 
of  it  is  placed  out  of  the  reach  of  the  enemy's  fire. 

Your  committee  would  do  great  injustice  to  the  manufacturers  and  the 
vast  progress  in  the  mechanic  arts,  recently  made  in  the  United  States,  if 
they  omitted  to  refer,  in  language  of  the  highest  pride  and  gratification,  to 
the  beautiful  workmanship  and  execution  of  the  steam  machinery  of  the 
Princeton.  It  more  than  rivals — it  surpasses — the  machinery  of  the  trans- 
Atlantic  steam  ships.  It  was  built  by  Messrs.  Merrick  &  Towne,  of  Phil- 
adelphia. 

The  armament  of  the  Princeton  consists  of  twelve  forty-two  pound 
carronades,  and  two  two-hundred-and-twelve-pound  Stockton  guns. 
These  last  are  made  of  wrought  iron,  said  to  have  been  thoroughly  proved, 
and  all  are  placed  on  the  upper  or  spar  deck.  One  of  the  Stockton 
guns,  weighing  fourteen  thousand  pounds,  is  placed  eight  feet  forward  of 
the  mizen  mast,  and  in  a  line  with  it;  the  other,  weighing  twenty-three 
thousand  pounds,  is  placed  at  the  bow.  Both  are  mounted  on  carriages 
traversing  on  beds  of  timber,  which  are  secured  in  the  centre  by  strong 
pivots,  around  which  they  turn.  These  beds  are  supported  by  four  fric- 
tion rollers,  inserted  in  the  four  corners,  and  travelling  on  a  flat  ring  of 
composition  metal  let  into  the  deck.  The  bulwarks,  hems'  movable  and 
very  light,  are  readily  unshipped,  to  give  full  play  to  the  large  guns  in 
the  direction  required. 

The  carriages  are  made  entirely  of  wrought  iron,  each  side  being  com- 
posed of  two  plates,  five  sixteenths  of  an  inch  thick,  four  and  a  half  inches 
apart,  and  connected  by  a  series  of  stay  bolts.  In  the  space  between  the 
two  plates,  a  simple  mechanism  is  ingeniously  concealed,  which  enables 
four  men  with  the  utmost  facility  to  roll  the  guns  back  and  forward  on  the 
beds,  and  removes  altogether  the  anticipated  difficulties  in  managing  ord- 
nance of  such  immense  calibre.  It  need  hardly  be  stated  that  the  diffi- 
culty of  checking  the  recoil  attending  the  heavy  charge  necessary  for  such 
a  piece  is  even  greater  than  that  of  moving  the  gun,  and  here  again  me- 
chanical skill  has  triumphed  to  all  appearance  over  the  supposed  insupera- 
ble obstacle.  The  ordinary  breeching  is  entirely  dispensed  with,  and  the 
recoil  is  checked  by  opposing  a  gradually  increasing  friction  to  the  carriage 
on  which  the  sun  is  mounted.  The  means  employed  for  this  purpose  ex- 
hibit a  happy  application  of  one  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  me- 
chanics—that  of  the  inclined  plane,  in  connexion  with  the  laws  of  friction; 
and  so  successiully  has  this  principle  been  applied,  that  although  the  fric- 
tion apparatus,  at  the  termination  of  the  recoil  of  the  gun,  becomes  what 
is  technically  called  jam ?ned,  with  a  force  perhaps  of  many  millions  of 
pounds,  yet  by  slightly  touching  .a  lever,  it  becomes  instantly  disengaged, 
leaving  the  gun  and  carriage  perfectly  free.  A  contrivance  having  the 
same  object  in  view  is  applied  to  the  carronades,  which  in  them  also  dis- 
penses with  the  ordinary  breeching. 

In  connexion  with  the  Stockton  guns,  besides  the  carriage,  &c,  of  which 


26 


Rep.  No.  144. 


they  have  spoken,  your  committee  have  to  notice  two  oilier  contrivances, 
which  render  them  unquestionably  the  most  formidable  ordnance  ever 
mounted.  Of  these,  the  first  is  a  lock  so  constructed  that  it  is  discharged 
at  any  desired  elevation,  without  human  interference,  by  a  peculiar 
mechanism,  in  which  the  law  of  gravitation,  in  connexion  with  the  rolling 
of  the  vessel,  is  rendered  subservient  to  this  purpose.  The  second  con- 
trivance referred  to  is  an  instrument  to  measure  distances,  by  which  the 
requisite  elevation  to  be  given  to  the  gun  may  be  instantly  determined. 

Your  committee  would  mention  that  the  heaviest  of  the  Stockton  gun=5 
Was  forgedin  the  city  of  New  York,  by  Messrs.  Ward  <fc  Co.,  and  was 
bored  and  finished  by  Messrs.  Hogg&  Delamater,  of  the  Phcenix  foundry. 
It  is  composed  entirely  of  American  iron,  and  is,  beyond  comparison,  the 
most  extraordinary  forged  work  ever  executed  in  this  or  any  other  country. 

The  Princeton  is  sparred  and  rigged  in  the  ordinary  manner  of  sloops  of 
war.  All  the  modern  improvements  of  our  packet  ships  have  been  adopted, 
and  in  some  cases  simplified.  It  is  therefore  believed  that  as  a  sailing  ship, 
without  reference  to  her  engines,  she  will  be  found  to  be  very  fast,  and  to 
excel  in  that  respect  any  tiling  ot  her  size  yet  built  for  our  government. 
This  quality  will  enable  her  to  keep  the  sea  as  long  as  any  other  corvette, 
and  at  no  greater  expense — her  fuel,  like  her  powder,  being  reserved  for 
an  emergency. 

The  cabins  are  arranged  in  a  very  neatand  tasteful  manner.  Economy 
of  space,  perfect  cleanliness,  and  free  circulation  of  air,  are  combined,  by 
dispensing  with  the  partitions  usually  forming  the  state-rooms  of  the  offi- 
cers. By  an  arrangement  of  curtains,  drawn  out  upon  rods  fixed  to  the 
deck  beams  overhead,  the  state-rooms  are  made  ;  they  are  ranged,  along 
each  side  of  the  ward  room,  and  when  not  in  use  the  curtains  are  run  back 
against  the  ship's  side,  effectually  exposing  the  whole  apartment  to  the  air. 
The  beds  of  the  officers  are  upon  the  principle  of  sofa  bedsteads — folding 
up  and  forming  a  handsome  piece  of  furniture  by  day  ;  and  the  wash  stand, 
with  which  each  officer  is  provided,  shuts  up,  and  presents,  when  not  in 
use,  a  neat  sideboard. 

The  question  whether  this  arrangement  will  be  popular  with  the  officers, 
is  one  not  pertinently  before  your  committee  ;  but  it  is  believed  that  too 
much  attention  cannot  be  paid  to  their  comfort,  that  they  may  feel  the 
proper  love  for  their  profession,  so  necessary  to  the  success  of  our  arms, 
within  the  circumscribed  limits  of  a  ship.  The  rigid  discipline  so  impe- 
riously demanded,  where  the  lives  of  all  and  the  honor  of  the  flag  are  in- 
volved, hinges  upon  the  habitual  implicit  obedience  of  orders.  Any  ar- 
rangement that  may  tend  to  reduce  officers  to  a  level  with  the  men  they 
are  to  command  is  detrimental,  and  any  that  increases  the  distance,  between 
them  will  unquestionably  increase  the  respect  requisite  to  success. 

Among  the  generals  and  tacticians  of  Burope,  the  belief  prevails  that  our 
superior  discipline  has  been  heretofore  the  cause  of  our  successes  ;  and  the 
unflinching  conduct,  unbroken  discipline,  and  calm  contempt  of  danger, 
which  distinguished  the  crew  and  officers  of  the  Missouri,  burnt  recently 
at  Gibraltar,  have  done  more  to  elevateour  national  character  in  this  respect 
than  can  he  possibly  computed  by  any  reckoning  of  cost  of  properly  de- 
stroyed. 

In  conclusion  your  committee  take  leave  to  present  the  Princeton  as 
every  way  worthy  the  highest  honors  of  the  Institute.  She  is  a  sublime 
conception,  most  successfully  realized — an  effort  of  genius  skilfully  exe- 


Rep.  No.  144. 


27 


cuted — a  grand  unique  combination,  honorable  to  the  country  as  creditable 
to  all  engaged  upon  her.    Nothing  in  the  history  of  mechanics  surpasses 
the  inventive  genius  of  Capt.  Ericsson,  unless  it  be  the  moral  daring  of 
Capt.  Stockton,  in  the  adoption  of  so  many  novelties  at  one  time. 
The  same  is  respectfully  submitted. 

J.S.  DRAKE,  JAS.  REN  WICK, 

H.  MEIGS,  GEO.  F.  BARNARD, 

ADONIRAM  CHANDLER,  CUR  DON  J.  LEEDS, 
PH.  SCHUYLER,  THOS.  S.  CUMMINGS. 

GEO.  C.  DE  KAY,  Chairman. 

Jas.  J.  Mapes,  Secretary. 


Schedule  K. 

United  States  of  America,  £ 
Southern  district  of  New  York,  ) 

Dionysius  Lardner,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  in  the  district  aforesaid, 
being  duly  sworn,  doth  depose  and  say,  that  he  has  carefully  examined  the 
bill  of  particulars  hereunto  annexed,  purporting  to  be  the  copy  of  a  bill  ren- 
dered to  the  Navy  Department  of  the  United  States  government,  by  John 
Ericsson,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  civil  engineer,  for  professional  services 
in  planning  and  superintending  the  construction  of  the  steam  machinery, 
&c,  of  the  United  States  steamer  Princeton,  and  for  certain  inventions 
therein  specified.  And  this  deponent  further  saith,  that  he  has  been  con- 
versant for  many  years  with  the  habits  and  usages  of  the  engineering  pro- 
fession, and  that  lor  ten  years  preceding  his  arrival  in  this  country,  that  is 
to  say,  from  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty  to  the  year  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  forty,  he  practised  as  a  consulting  engineer  on  an  extensive  scale 
in  England,  and  was  employed  directly  or  indirectly  in  almost  all  the  great 
public  works,  and  in  many  government  investigations  ;  that  since  his  ar- 
rival in  this  country  he  has  continued  his  professional  practice,  and  .has 
been  professionally  connected  with  all  the  leading  English  engineers,  and 
with  many  of  those  of  the  United  States  ;  and  that  deponent  is  conversant, 
with  the  fees  and  charges  customarily  made  in  the  engineering  profession. 
Deponent  further  saith  that  he  is  well  acquainted  with  the  profession?! 
standing  of  the  petitioner,  Captain  Ericsson,  both  in  this  country  and  in 
Europe.  And  this  deponent  further  saith  that  during  the  period  of  the 
construction  of  the  Princeton,  he  had  frequent  opportunities  of  inspecting 
the  drawings  in  the  annexed  bill  specified,  and  has  been  generally  conver- 
sant with  them,  and  that  he  has  also  visited  the  Princeton,fand  has  exam- 
ined her  machinery  and  armament  since  the  completion  of  the  same.  And 
this  deponent  further  saitli  that  the  per  diem  charge  of  five  pounds,  includ- 
ing travelling  expenses  and  other  professional  disbursements,  does  not 
amount  to  one-half  the  sum  ordinarily  allowed  in  England  to  an  engineer 
of  the  same  professional  standing  with  the  petitioner;  and  this  deponent 
further  saith  that  the  extensive  collection  of  plans  and  drawings  executed 
and  designed  by  Captain  Ericsson,  and  specified  in  the  said  bill  of  particu- 
lars, shows  a  greater  amount  of  mental  labor  and  more  extraorainary  re- 
sources of  mechanical  invention  than  have  ever  before  fallen  under  de- 


28  Rep.  No.  144. 


ponent's  notice  in  any  similar  case  ;  that  said  drawings  are  not  confined  to 
snch  as  fall  within  the  ordinary  routine  of  professional  business,  but  extend 
in  many  instances  to  contrivances  which  are  the  results  of  original  inven- 
tive powers,  directed  to  the  solution  of  novel  points  in  mechanics,  and  that 
on  this  account  alone  their  author  would,  according  to  the  usage  of  the  pro- 
fession, be  entitled  to  extraordinary  compensation.  And  deponent  further 
saith,  that  an  examination  of  these  drawings,  plans,  and  specifications  affords 
proof  that  the  great  advance  in  the  science  of  steam-navigation  applied  to 
national  defence,  which  has  been  made  in  the  construction  of  the  United 
States  steam-ship  Princeton,  has  been  the  result  of  the  labors  and  genius  of 
Captain  Ericsson,  and  that  on  this  account,  also,  a  most  liberal  compensation 
is  due  to  him.  And  this  deponent  saith,  that  he  has  examined  the  plans 
and  seen  the  construction  of  the  four  inventions  and  improvements  specified 
by  Captain  Ericsson  in  his  said  bill ;  that  is  to  say,  the  heating  apparatus 
by  which  an  extensive  saving  of  fuel  is  effected,  a  matter  of  paramount  im- 
portance in  a  vessel  of  this  class — the  new  gun  carriage,  which  enables  a  few- 
men  to  manipulate  the  heaviest  piece  of  ordnance,  and  which  gradually 
checks  the  recoil  so  as  to  save  the  ship  from  any  injurious  shock  ;  the  slid- 
ing chimney,  a  contrivance  by  which  the  most  valuable  part  of  a  steam- 
ship is  rendered  inaccessible  to  shot — and  the  spirit  level,  by  which  a  piece 
of  ordnance  may  be  aimed  with  precision,  notwithstanding  the  motion  of  the 
vessel ;  and  deponent  saith  that  he  considers  that  these  four  improvements 
are  of  so  much  national  importance,  that  their  inventor  would  be  very  in- 
adequately rewarded  by  a  compensation  so  limited  as  that  charged  for 
them  in  the  said  bill ;  and  this  deponent  saith  he  believes  said  inventions  to 
be  new,  and  applied  for  the  first  time  in  the  said  steam  ship  Princeton. 

And  this  deponent  further  saith,  that  on  a  general  view  of  the  annexed 
bill,  taking  the  whole  together,  and  considering  the  perfect  success  which 
has  attended  the  operation  of  the  vessel,  thus  invented  and  constructed  by 
the  petitioner,  he  does  not  hesitate  to  depose  that  the  sum  total  in  the  said 
bill,  charged  by  the  petitioner,  is,  according  to  the  deponent's  experience 
and  judgment,  a  very  inadequate  compensation  for  the  services  and  inven- 
tions therein  enumerated  ;  and  the  petitioner  might  have  made  a  charge  of 
more  than  double  the  NHal  amount,  without  being  justly  censurable  with 
being  extravagant  or  unreasonable. 

DION.  LARDNER. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  this  2Sth  day  of  November,  1844,  before  me. 

GEO.  VV.  MORTON, 

U.  S.  Commissioner. 

[The  bill  annexed  to  the  above  affidavits  was  that  contained  in  the  fore- 
going schedule  A.] 


Schedule  L. 

New  York,  December  14, 1S44. 
Dear  Sir:  I  have  examined  carefully  the  documents  received  from  you, 
showing  the  claim  of  Capt.  Ericsson  for  compensation  for  the  design  and 
superintendence  of  the  machinery  of  the  Princeton.    The  usual  mode  of 


* 


Rep.  No.  144.  29 

providing  for  the  compensation  of  an  engineer  in  similar  cases,  so  far  as  my 
experience  has  gone,  is  by  a  commission  on  the  amount  of  the  cost  of  the 
work  under  his  charge.  A  larger  allowance  is  generally  made  when  the 
plan  is  new  and  untried,  and  demanding  of  the  chief  engineer  more  atten- 
tion as  to  details  then  when  he  is  only  required  to  follow  an  old  arrange- 
ment, merely  adapting  the  proportion  to  the  subject  in  hand.  In  the  case 
of  Capt.  E.  there  seems  to  have  been  vast  attention  to  the  most  minute 
particulars  of  the  machinery  ;  and  also  that  he  performed  personally  much 
labor  in  preparing  working  draughts,  usually  made  in  the  office  of  the  ma- 
chinist and  charged  to  the  work.  A  commission  often  per  centum,  exclu- 
sive of  travelling  expenses,  stationery,  &c,  would  be  readily  obtained  for 
such  services  as  a  matter  of  agreement.  The  cost  of  the  machinery  of  the 
Princeton  is  not  known  to  me,  but  I  presume  it  is  less  than  $100,000. 
As  1  know  nothing  of  the  patented  improvements,  I  can  say  nothing  as 
to  the  charge  of  $5,000  for  their  use. 

I  am  respectfully  yours, 

ROBERT  SCHUYLER. 


Schedule  LL. 


Washington,  D.  C,  January  9,  1846. 
Sir  :  Your  letter  of  the  8th  instant  is  received. 

In  reply  to  the  contained  request  of  my  opinion  "  of  the  propriety  of  the 
charge  made  by  Captain  J.  Ericsson  for  furnishing  the  designs  and  work- 
ing drawings,  a::d  for  superintending  the  construction  of  the  engines,  boil- 
ers, and  propeller  of  the  United  States  steamer  Princeton,"  I  have  to  say 
that,  referring  to  the  professional  value  of  the  services,  the  charge  of  £5 
per  day  is  a  proper  one.  In  this  I  am  strengthened  by  a  knowledge  both 
of  the  character  of  the  work  and  of  the  unusual  despatch  with  which  it  was 
performed. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

CHAS.  H.  HAS  WELL. 

Hon.  Thos.  Butler  King,  Washington,  D.  C. 


Schedule  LLL. 

United  States  of  Amerfca,  ^  ^ 
/Southern  district  of  New  York,  ) 

Frederick  A.  Hanford,  of  said  district,  resident  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
attorney  at  law,  being  duly  sworn,  doth  depose  and  say,  that  he  is  the  at- 
torney of  record  for  the  defendant,  in  a  suit  commenced  at  the  April  term  of 
the  circuit  court  of  the  United  States  for  the  southern  district  of  New  York, 
in  the  second  circuit,  in  the  year  1844,  and  still  pending,  wherein  Francis 
Pettit  Smith,  of  the  city  of  London,  is  plaintiff,  and  John  Ericsson  ia  de- 


30  Rep.  No.  144. 

fendant;  and  this  deponent  saith  that  the  plaintiff  therein  claims  to  recover 
of  the  said  defendant  the  sum  of  $5,000  actual  damages,  to  be  trebled  at 
the  discretion  of  the  court,  for  the  alleged  infringement  by  said  defen- 
dant of  a  certain  patent  of  said  plaintiff  in  the  construction  of  the  steam 
ship  Princeton  and  the  revenue  cutter  Legare.  And  this  defendant  saith 
that  said  cause  was  brought  to  trial  in  the  month  of  July  last,  and  it  was 
proved  on  said  trial  that  the  said  defendant  was  responsible  for  the  construc- 
tion of  the  said  Princeton  :  and  his  honor  Mr.  Justice  Nelson,  who  presided  at 
the  said  trial,  ruled  that  the  said  defendant  was  liable  to  the  said  plaintiff 
iu  damages,  if  the  jury  should  be  of  opinion  that  the  application  of  the 
propeller  in  the  Princeton  was  an  infringement  of  the  said  plaintiff's  patent. 
And  this  deponent  further  saith,  that  it  was  stated  by  the  plaintiff's 
counsel,  on  the  said  trial,  that  the  said  invention  had  been  introduced  into 
extensive  use  in  the  British  navy,  and  that  the  admiralty  had  constructed 
the  Rattler  and  other  frigates  on  the  said  plan,  and  that  it  was  now  consid- 
ered highly  advantageous  for  the  construction  of  ships  of  war,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  propelling  apparatus  and  steam  machinery  being  placed  be- 
low the  water  line  and  out  of  the  reach  of  shot;  being  thus  preferable  to 
the  exposed  paddle  wheels  and  steam  machinery  of  ordinary  steam-ships. 
And  this  deponent  further  says,  that  it  was  proved  on  the  said  trial,  by  the 
testimony  of  Russell  Sturgis,  esq.,  agent  for  the  nominal  plaintiff,  residing 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  that  the  real  plaintiff  in  the  said  action  was  a 
wealthy  incorporated  company  in  the  city  of  London,  from  whom  he  had 
a  power  of  attorney  to  act  in  the  premises,  and  that  the  said  invention  had 
not  been  introduced  by  them  in  the  United  Stales,  although  their  letters 
patent  in  England  were  dated  in  the  year  1836.  And  this  deponent  fur- 
ther saith.  that  the  defendant. in  the  said  action  patented  his  said  propeller 
employed  in  the  Princeton  in  the  year  1836,  in  England,  and  in  the  Uni- 
ted  Slates  in  the  year  1838,  and  that  in  the  year  1839.  as  this  deponent  is 
informed  and  believes,  he  came  to  this  country  with  the  view  of  perma- 
nently remaining  here,  and  of  introducing  his  said  improvement  in  the 
American  waters,  and  that  he  has  taken  the  steps  necessary  to  his  naturali- 
zaion  as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States.  And  this  deponent  further  saith, 
that  on  the  trial  of  the  said  cause  it  fully  appeared  that  the  said  corpora- 
tion, plaintiff,  had  incurred  no  expenditures  in  practically  demonstrating  in 
this  country  the  advantage  or  value  of  the  alleged  invention,  and  that  the 
new  mode  of  propulsion  adopted  in  the  Princeton  was  first  introduced  into 
the  Unit*  d  States  by  the  said  defendant,  and,  in  the  peculiar  application  used 
in  the  Princeton,  and  which  was  the  subject  matter  of  the  said  suit,  only 
in  said  ship,  and  with  son^  modifications  in  the  Legare.  And  this  depo- 
nent further  saith.  that  the  jury  on  the  said  trial,  after  being  out  for  twenty 
hours,  were  unable  lo  agree,  and  were  discharged.  And  this  deponent 
fun  her  saith  that  the  .said  cause  is  still  pending  and  at  issue,  and  ready  for 
trial  at  the  next  term  of  the  United  States  circuit  court  for  the  southern 
district  of  New  York.  An  J  this  deponent  further  sn it h,  that  the  defence 
of  the  said  suit  has  demanded  much  time  and  labor  of  the  said  defendant 
during  tlx;  last  eight  sen  mouths;  that  he  has  incurred  heavy  expenses  in 
procuring  the  requisite  t  istimony  to  sustain  his  rights,  and  in  the  employ- 
ment of  a1  torn  y  and  counsel  to  defend  the  same,  and  in  the  trial  of  the 
said  cause;  and  that  the  said  expenses  are  still  continuing  and  likely  to 
con?, one,  hi  consequence  Of  the  ample  means  employed  in  the  prosecution 
of  the  said  suit  and  the  interest  of  the  said  company,  plaintiff,  to  monpolize 


Rep.  No.  144. 


31 


the  peculiar  application  of  the  said  propeller  adopted  in  the  Princeton. 
And  this  deponent  further  sailh  that  the  said  expenses  have  been  exclusive- 
ly  borne  by  the  said  defendant,  and  that  no  other  party  employed  in  build- 
ing or  &Hing  out  the  said  Princeton  has  been  joined  in  the  said  suit,  and 
that  the  said  defendant  has,  to  the  best  of  deponent's  knowledge,  informa- 
tion, and  belief,  received  no  assistance  whatever  in  the  matter  of  said  ex- 
penses in  the  conduct  of  the  said  suit  from  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  or  irorn  the  officer  under  whose  superintendence  the  said  Princeton 
was  built,  or  from  the  contractors  or  manufacturers  of  the  said  machinery, 
or  the  naval  constructors,  who  are  all  equally  liable  with  him  to  a  suit  for  the 
alleged  infringement;  but  that  the  whole  burden  of  the  same  has  been 
thrown  upon  the  said  defendant,  and  has  been  sustained  at  his  unaided  indi- 
vidual expense  ;  and  further  saith  not. 

F.  A.  HAN  FORD. 

Sworn  this  3d  dav  of  January,  1846.  before  me. 

GEO.  W.  MORTON, 
United  States  Comin  fusion  er. 


SCHKDULE  M. 

[Executive  Doc.  No.  1:21,  of  the  House  ofRepresentatires,  &3ih  Cimgres-,  1st  session.] 

Message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States,  transmitting  the  report 
of  Capi.  It  F.  Stockton^  relative  to  the  vessel  of  war  Princeton. 

To  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  : 

i  transmit,  herewith,  the  copy  of  a  report  made  by  Captain  R.  F.  Stockton, 
of  the  United  States  navy,  relative  to  the  vessel  of- war  the  Princeton,  which 
has  been  constructed  under  his  supervision  and  direction,  and  recommend 
the  same  to  the  attentive  consideration  of  Congress. 

JOHN  TYLER. 

Washington,  February  12,  1844. 


U.  S.  ship  Princeton, 
Philadelphia,  February  5,  1S44. 

Sir  :  The  United  States  ship  Princeton  having  received  her  armament  on 
board,  and  being  nearly  ready  for  sea,  1  have  the  honor  to  iransmit  to  you 
the  following  account  of  her  equipment,  &c. 

The  Princeton  is  a  "full-rigged  ship"  of  great  speed  and  power,  able  to 
perform  any  service  that  can  be  expected  from  a  ship  of  war.  Constructed 
upon  the  most  approved  principles  of  naval  architecture,  she  is  believed  to 
be  at  least  equal  to  any  ship  of  her  class  with  her  sails.  She  has,  also,  an 
auxiliary  power  of  steam,  and  can  make  ^greater  speed  than  any  sea  going 
steamer,' or  other  vessel,  heretofore  built.  *  Her  engines  lie  snug  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  vessel,  out  of  reach  of  an  enemy's  shot,  and  do  not  at  all  interfere 
with  the  use  of  the  sails,  but  can  at  any  time  be  made  auxiliary  thereto. 
She  shows  no  chimney,  and  makes  no  smoke  ;  and  there  is  nothing  in  her 
external  appearance  to  indicate  that  she  is  propelled  by  steam. 


32 


Rep.  No.  144. 


The  advantages  of  the  Princeton  over  both  sailing  ships  and  steamers  pro- 
pelled in  the  usual  way,  are  great  and  obvious.  She  can  go  in  and  out  of  port 
at  pleasure,  without  regard  to  the  force  or  direction  of  the  wind  or  tide,  or 
the  thickness  of  the  ice.  She  can  ride  safely  with  her  anchors  in  the  most 
open  roadstead;  and  may  lie  to,  in  the  severest  gale  of  wind,  with  safety. 
She  can  not  only  save  herself,  but  will  be  able  to" tow  a  squadron  from  the 
dangers  of  a  lee-shore,  using  ordinarily  the  power  of  the  wind,  and  reserv- 
ing her  fuel  for  emergencies.  She  can  remain  at  sea  the  same  length  of 
time  as  other  sailing  ships.  Making  no  noise,  smoke,  or  agitation  of  the 
water,  (and,  if  she  chooses,  showing  no  sail,)  she  can  surprise  an  enemy. 
She  can,  at  pleasure,  take  her  own  position  and  her  own  distance  from  an 
enemy.  Her  engines  and  water  wheel  being  below  the  surface  of  the  water, 
safe  from  an  enemy's  shot,  she  is  in  no  danger  of  being  disabled,  even  if  her 
masts  should  be  destroyed.  She  will  not  be  at  a  daily  expense  for  fuel,  as 
other  steam-ships  are.  The  engines  being  seldom  used,  will  probably  out- 
last two  such  ships.  These  advantages  make  the  Prmceton,  in  my  opinion, 
the  cheapest,  fastest,  and  most  certain  ship  of  war  in  the  world.  The  equip- 
ments of  this  ship  are  of  the  plainest  and  most  substantial  kind — the  fur- 
niture of  the  cabins  being  made  of  white  pine  boards,  painted  white,  with 
mahogany  chairs,  tables,  and  sideboard,  and  an  American  manufactured 
oil-cloth  on  the  floor.  To  economize  room,  and  that  the  ship  may  be  better 
ventilated,  curtains  of  American  manufactured  linen  are  substituted  for  the 
usual  and  more  cumbrous  and  expensive  wooden  bulk  heads;  by  which 
arrangement  the  apartments  of  the  men  and  officers  may,  in  an  instant, 
be  thrown  into  one  ;  and  a  degree  of  spaciousness  and  comfort  is  attained, 
unusual  in  a  ship  of  her  class.  The  Princeton  is  armed  with  two  long 
two  hundred  and  twenty  five  pounder  wrought  iron  guns,  and  twelve  forty- 
two  pounder  carronades  ;  all  of  which  may  be  used  at  once,  on  either  side 
of  the  ship.  She  can,  consequently,  throw  a  greater  weight  of  metal  at  one 
broadside  than  most  frigates.  The  big  guns  of  the  Princeton  can  he  fired 
with  an  effect  terrific,  and  almost  incredible,  and  with  a  certainty  hereto- 
fore unknown.  The  extraordinary  effects  of  the  shot  were  proved  by  firing 
at  a  target  which  was  urde  to  represent  a  section  of  the  two  sides  and 
deck  of  a  seventy-four  gun  ship,  and  timbered,  kneed,  planked,  and  bolted 
in  the  same  manner.  This  target  was  five  hundred  and  sixty  yards  from 
the  gun.  With  the  smaller  charges  of  powder,  the  shot  passed  through 
these  immense  masses  of  timber,  (being  fifty-seven  inches  thick,)  tearing 
it  away,  and  splintering  it  for  several  feet  on  each  side,  and  covering  the 
whole  surface  of  the  ground  for  a  hundred  feet  square  with  fragments  of 
wood  and  iron.  The  accuracy  with  which  these  guns  throw  their  im- 
mense shot  (which  are  three  feet  in  circumference)  may  be  judged  by  this 
— that  six  shot  fired  in  succession,  at  the  same  elevation,  struck  the  same 
horizontal  plank  in  a  target  more  than  half  a  mile  distant.  By  the  ap- 
plication of  the  various  arts  to  the  purposes  of  war  on  board  of  the  Prince- 
ton, it  is  believed  that  the  art  of  gunnery  for  sea  service  has,  for  the  first 
time,  been  reduced  to  something  like  mathematical  certainty.  The  dis- 
tance to  which  these  guns  can  throw  their  shot  at  every  necessary  angle  of 
elevation,  has  been  ascertained  by  a  series  of  careful  experiments.  The 
distance  from  the  ship  to  any  object  is  readily  ascertained  with  an  instru- 
ment on  board,  contrived  for  that  purpose,  by  an  observation  which  it  re- 
quires hut  an  instant  to  make,  and  by  inspection  without  calculation.  By 
btlf  acting  locks,  the  guns  cau  be  fired  accurately  at  the  necessary  elevation, 


Rep.  No.  144.  33 


do  maUer  what  the  motion  of  the  ship  may  be.  It  is  confidently  believed 
that  this  small  ship  will  be  able  to  battle  with  any  vessel,  however  large,  it' 
she  is  not  invincible  against  any  foe.  The  improvements  in  (he  art  of  war, 
adopted  on  board  the  Princeton,  may  be  productive  of  i»ore  important  re- 
sults than  any  thing  that  has  occurred  since  the  invention  of  gunpowder. 
The  numerical  force  of  other  navies,  so  long  boasted,  may  be  set  at  naught. 
The  ocean  may  again  become  neutral  ground  ;  and  the  rights  of  the  smallest, 
as  well  as  the  greatest  nation,  may  once  more  be  respected. 

All  of  which,  for  the  honor  and  defence  of  every  inch  of  our  territory, 
is  most  respectfully  submitted  to  the  honorable  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  for 
the  information  of  the  President  and  Congress  of  the  United  States,  by 
Your  obedient  and  faithful  servant, 

R.  F.  STOCKTON, 
Captain  United  States  Navy. 

Hon.  David  Henshaw, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy. 


Communication  from  the  Navy  Department. 

[The  foregoing  documents  being  before  the  Committee  on  Naval  A  flairs 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  during  the  second  session  of  the  28th  Con- 
gress, a  letter  was  addressed  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  by  George  P. 
Marsh,  esq.,  of  the  committee,  to  which  the  Secretary  returned  the  follow- 
ing reply.  The  reply  of  the  Secretary,  and  the  documents  annexed  to  it, 
are  marked  schedules  AA,  BB,  CC,  and  numbered  1  to  II,  inclusive.) 


AA. 

Navy  Department,  February  12,  1845. 

Sir:  I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  communication  of  2lst  Jan- 
nary  ult.,  asking  information  in  relation  to  a  claim  before  the  Committee 
of  Naval  Affairs,  in  favor  of  John  Ericsson,  and,  in  compliance  with  your 
request,  now  have  the  honor  to  enclose  a  report  from  the  Chief  of  the  Bureau 
of  Construction,  &c,  with  copies  of  sundry  letters  referred  to  in  that  report. 

These  papers  exhibit  the  extent  of  authority  given  by  any  officer,  or  by 
the  department,  to  Capt.  Stockton,  so  far  as  the  records  of  the  department 
and  of  the  late  board  of  navy  commissioners  show.  It  appears  that  the 
bills  for  labor  and  for  materials,  while  the  Princeton  was  being  constructed, 
were  paid  on  the  certificate  of  Captain  Stockton,  and  the  approval  of  the 
commandant  of  the  navy- yard  at  Philadelphia.  The  bills  have  been  paid 
since  the  steamer  was  put  in  commission,  on  the  certificate  of  the  command- 
ing officer.  That  when  the  claim  of  John  Ericsson  was  presented  to  the 
department,  neither  the  books  of  the  department  nor  the  Fourth  Auditor's 
office  affording  any  evidence  of  contract  or  employment  of  him  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  Princeton,  it  was  referred  to  Captain  Stockton  for  explana- 
tion, and  on  his  reply,  a  copy  of  which  is  communicated,  the  claim  was 
disallowed  by  the  department,  because  it  did  not  appear  to  me  that  he  had 
any  claim  which  1  could  by  law  recognise  or  allow. 


34  Rep.  No.  144. 


The  information  called  for  in  your  letter  has  rendered  it  necessary  to  ex- 
amine very  voluminous  books  and  papers,  which  has  produced  a  delay  that 
I  very  much  regret. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  obedient  servant, 

J  Y.  MASON. 

Hon.  Geo.  P.  Marsh, 

Committee  on  Naval  A ffairs, 

House  of  Representatives. 

£5=After  the  committee  shall  have  used  the  report  of  the  Chief  of  Bureau3 
with  the  accompanying  papers,  I  will  be  obliged  to  you  to  return  them  to 
the  department. 


BB. 

Letter  of  Captain  Stockton  referred  to  in  the  preceding  communica- 
tion A  A. 

Princeton,  May  20,  1844. 

Sir:  In  answer  to  your  last  communication  of  the  10th  inst.,  on  the 
subject  of  Captain  Ericsson's  accounts,  a  copy  of  which  had  been  pre- 
viously sent  to  me  by  the  department,  and  which  I  could  not  approve,  I 
have  the  honor  further  to  stale : 

That  it  has  given  me  great  pleasure  to  acknowledge,  upon  all  proper 
occasions,  the  services  of  Capt.  Ericsson's  mechanical  skill  in  carrying  out  my 
well  intended  efforts  for  the  benefit  of  the  country.  And,  although  I  am 
still  free  to  do  so,  yet  my  duty  to  the  government,  and  not  more  than  a  proper 
regard  for  myself,  require  ine  to  say,  that  I  was  quite  surprised  to  learn, 
that  he  had  presented  any  claim  or  demand  whatever  against  the  depart- 
ment for  services  rendered  to  me  in  fitting  the  Princeton ;  nor  was  my  sur- 
prise at  all  diminished  on  a  perusal  of  his  accounts,  to  find  that  he  had  beea 
so  extravagant  in  all  Xm  demands. 

That  the  government  may  have  a  proper  understanding  of  the  true  posi- 
tion of  Captain  Ericsson  towards  the  government  and  myself,  in  regard  to 
any  demand  he  has  made  or  may  see  fit  to  make  for  the  services  before 
alluded  to,  however  eminent  and  laborious  they  may  turn  out  to  be — it 
seems  to  be  proper  here  to  state  some  of  the  circumstances  connected  with 
my  first  acquaintance  with  him,  and  his  subsequent  visit  to  the  United 
States. 

Previous  to  my  acquaintance  with  Captain  Ericsson,  I  had  proposed  to 
the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the  Navy  Department  to  construct 
a  steam-ship  of  war  whose  machinery  should  be  entirely  out  of  the  reach  of 
shot.  Pursuing  my  inquiries  on  this  subject  a  few  years  afterwards  in 
England,  1  was  informed  by  Mr.  Francis  13.  Ogden,  our  consul  at  Liver- 
pool, that  a  very  ingenious  mechanic  by  the  name  of  Ericsson  had  been 
devoting  much  time  and  attention  to  the  matter  of  submerged  wheels.  He 
afterwards  introduced  him  to  me  ;  subsequently  1  had  constructed  in  Eng- 
land, under  his  immediate  superintendence,  an  iron  boat  with  the  sub- 
merged wheels,  and  which  boat  was  afterwards  sent  to  the  United  States. 
I  also  had  constructed,  under  his  direction,  an  engine  similar  to  the  one  no\% 
on  board  the  Princeton,  which  was  also  sent  to  the  United  States. 


Rep.  No.  144. 


35 


Having  obtained  these  two  models,  I  took  my  leave  of  Captain  Ericsson, 
not  knowing  that  1  should  ever  again  see  him,  and  not  supposing  that  his 
personal  services  would  he  ever  required  or  desired  by  me.  1  had  the 
fullest  confidence  that  all  that  1  wished  could  be  done  quite  as  well  by  the 
mechanics  in  the  United  States  as  by  Captain  Ericsson.  I  had  no  idea 
that  Captain  Ericsson  intended  to  come  to  the  United  States,  until  I  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  him  announcing  his  arrival  in  New  York.  I  have  in- 
variably given  him  to  understand  in  the  most  distinct  manner,  whenever 
the  subject  was  alluded  to,  that  I  had  no  authority  from  the  government  to 
employ  him;  and  that,  if  he  received  any  thing,  it  must  be  altogether 
gratuitous  on  the  part  of  the  government;  that,  considering  the  great  op- 
portunity that  he  as  an  inventor  would  have  to  introduce  his  patents  to  the 
world  by  the  aid  of  the  funds  of  the  government,  I  did  not  think  it  proper 
for  him  to  make  a  charge  for  their  application  to  the  Princeton,  in  all  of 
which  he  has  concurred,  as  far  as  I  know,  up  to  the  time  of  the  present- 
ment of  his  extraordinary  bill. 

It  appears,  then,  in  the  first  place,  that  Captain  Ericsson  came  to  the 
United  States  without  my  invitation  or  approbation,  and,  allow  me  further 
to  add,  much  to  my  surprise  and  annoyance. 

Having  thus  thrust  himself  upon  me,  and  believing  him  at  that  time  to 
be  a  mechanic  of  some  skill,  1  did  not 'employ  him,  but  1  permitted  him,  as 
a  particular  act  of  favor  and  kindness,  to  superintend  the  construction  of 
the  machinery  of  the  Princeton,  on  the  success  of  which  he  had  placed  so  much 
of  his  future  hopes  and  expectations.  Captain  Ericsson  himself  considered 
at  the  time  he  thus  volunteered  his  services,  that  the  opportunity  afforded 
him  to  exhibit  to  the  world  the  importance  of  his  various  patents  would 
be  a  satisfactory  remuneration  for  all  his  services  in  getting  them  up  on  so 
magnificent  a  scale. 

In  giving  you  this  brief  and  general  statement  of  my  views  on  the  sub- 
ject of  your  letter  of  the  10th  instant,  I  have  endeavored  to  avoid  every 
thing  not  directly  connected  with  the  subject  of  your  inquiry. 
Your  obedient  and  faithful  servant, 

R.  F.  STOCKTON. 

Hon.  John  Y.  Mason, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy. 


CO. 

Bureau  op  Construction,  Equipment,  and  Repair, 

February  7,  1845. 
Sir:  In  conformity  with  your  instructions,  communicated  with  the  letter 
to  you  from  the  Hon.  G.  P.  Marsh,  of  the  Navnl  Committee  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  dated  2lst  January,  1845,  requesting  certain  information 
relative  to  the  construction  and  payment  of  bills  for  the  United  States 
steamer  Princeton,  I  have  the  honor  to  enclose  herewith  copies  or  extracts 
of  letters,  which  have  been  made  from  the  books  of  the  department  of  the 
late  board  of  navy  commissioners,  and  which  it  is  believed  comprise  all 
the  information  those  books  contain  respecting  the  nature  and  extent  of  the 
authority  which  was  given  to  Captain  Stockton  or  other  persons,  for  the 
construction  of  that  vessel.    Of  these  letters, 


36  Rep.  No.  144. 

No.  I,  is  from  Captain  Stockton  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  dated  27th 
May,  1841. 

No.  2,  is  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  Captain  Stockton,  dated  1st 
June,  1841. 

No.  3,  is  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  Commodore  Stewart,  dated 
1st  June,  1841. 

No.  4.  is  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  the  president  of  the  navy 
board,  dated  11th  September,  1841. 

No.  5,  is  from  the  navy  commissioners  to  Commodore  Stewart,  dated  21st 
September,  184 1. 

No.  6,  is  from  the  acting  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  Captain  Stockton, 
dated  22d  September,  1841. 

No.  7,  is  from  Commodore  Stewart  to  the  navy  commissioners,  dated  5th 
October,  1841. 

No.  8,  is  from  the  navy  commissioners  to  Commodore  Stewart,  dated 
IStli  November,  1841. 

No.  9,  is  from  the  navy  commissioners  to  Commodore  Read,  dated  7th 
April,  1842. 

No.  10,  is  the  first  paragraph  of  an  agreement  for  the  engines  of  the 
Princeton,  dated  14th  January,  1S42.  This  wag  transmitted  to  and  signed 
by  Merrick  &  Towne  only,  through  the  commandant  of  the  yard  at  Phila- 
delphia, in  letter  No.  9.  The  other  provisions  of  the  contract  relate  to  the 
prices  to  be  paid  tor  the  different  details. 

No.  11,  is  a  copy  of  an  engagement  to  furnish  the  boilers,  the  fittings  of 
boilers,  engines  and  blowers,  smoke-pipe,  and  Ericsson's  patent  propeller. 

None  of  the  letter  books  show  by  whom  these  two  engagements  were 
made,  or  fowarded  to  the  commissioner,  nor  any  special  authority  for  their 
bein<r  made  or  accepted. 

By  the  contract  leger,  it  appears  that  the  cost  of  the  articles  purchased 
under  the  above  contracts  or  engagements  was  duly  paid. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant. 

C.  MORRIS. 

Hon.  John  Y.  Ma30n.  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 


No.  1.— Copy. 

Washington,  May  27,  1841. 
Sir  :  i  have  the  honor  to  transmit  to  the  Navy  Department  a  model  for 
a  steamship  of  war,  which  1  will  be  glad  further  to  explain  by  requisite 
drawings,  il  the  department  will  order  me  to  prepare  thefn,  and  will  order 
Lieutenant  E.  R.  Thomson  and  William  Hunt  to  Philadelphia,  to  assist  me. 
Your  obedient  and  faithful  servant. 

R.  R  STOCKTON. 

Hon.  G.  E.  Badgku,  Secretary  of  the  IS'avy. 


No.  2.— Coi'v. 

Navy  Department,  June  I,  1841. 
Sin  :  Your  letter  of  the  17th  nit.,  referring  to  the  model  of  machinery  for 
propelling  a  steam  vcss?l  upon  a  plan  originally  pronesed  to  the  department 


Rep.  No.  144. 


37 


by  yon,  and  stating  your  readiness  to  furnish  draughts  and  further  expla- 
nations of  the  same,  has  been  received. 

You  will  report  to  Commodore  Stewart,  at  the  navy  yard,  Philadelphia, 
for  the  purpose  of  preparing  the  draughts  of  such  vessel,  and  such  arrange- 
ments for  propelling  her  as  may  enable  the  department  to  judge  of  the 
expediency  of  having  one  constructed  in  conformity  to  your  wishes.  When 
the  draughts  are  completed,  you  will  forward  them  to  the  board  of  navy 
commissioners,  for  the  consideration  and  decision  of  the  department. 

To  facilitate  and  expedite  the  preparation  of  these  draughts,  Lieutenants 
Hunt  and  Thomson  will  be  ordered  to  report  to  Commodore  Stewart,  to 
assist  you  in  the  work. 

I  am,  &c. 

GEO.  E.  BADGER. 

Capt.  R.  F.  Stockton,  U.  S.  Navy,  Princeton. 


No.  3.— Copy. 

Navy  Department,  June  1,  1841. 

Sir:  Captain  R.  F.  Stockton  has  been  ordered  to  report  to  you  for  the 
purpose  of  preparing  draughts  and  explanations  of  a  steamer  and  machinery 
for  the  consideration  and  decision  of  the  department.  Lieutenants  Hunt 
and  Thomson  have  also  been  ordered  to  report  to  you  to  assist  Captain 
Stockton.  You  will  please  afford  to  Captain  S.  such  facilities  for  perform- 
ing this  work  as  can  be  granted  without  injury  to  the  service. 

I  am,  respectfully,  &c. 

GEO.  E.  BADGER. 

Com.  Charles  Stewart, 

Commandant  of  navy  yard,  Philadelphia. 


No.  4.— Copy. 

Navy  Department,  September  11,  1841. 
Sir:  The  board  of  navy  commissioners  is  directed  to  cause  to  be  built 
two  steam-vessels  of  war:  one  c-n  Captain  Stockton's  plan,  not  exceeding 
six  hundred  tons,  and  one  on  that  of  Lieutenant  Hunter,  not  to  exceed 
three  hundred  tons. 

1  am  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

GEO.  E.  BADGER. 
Com.  L.  Warrington,  President  of  the  Navy  Board. 


So.  5. — Copy. 

Board  op  Navy  Commissioners,  September  21,  1841. 
Sir:  The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  having  determined  to  have  a  steamer 
of  600  tons  built  on  the  plan  proposed  by  Captain  Stockton,  the  commis- 


38 


Rep.  No.  144. 


sioners  have  determined  to  have  her  constructed  at  the  yard  under  your 
command,  and  Captain  Stockton  will,  it  is  understood,  be  ordered  to  report 
to  you  for  this  duty  under  your  direction.  The  board  have  requested  Cap- 
tain Stockton  to  prepare,  and  hand  to  you  a  draught  of  the  plan  of  thesteam- 
er,  confining  her  burden  to  600  tons,  but  leaving  her  form  and  dimen- 
sions to  his  judgment.  Steam  is  to  be  the  main  propelling  power,  upon 
Ericsson's  plan."  She  is  to  be  built  of  white  oak  instead  of  live  oak,  and  her 
armament  will  consist  of  two  heavy  8  inch  guns  and  six  42  pound  carro- 
nades.  Captain  Stockton  has  also  been  requested  to  prepare  and  forward 
to  the  board  at  an  early  day  estimates  of  the  cost  of  her  hull,  including  her 
equipments.  In  preparing  these  and  the  draught  called  for,  he  may  need  the 
assistance  of  Mr.  Lent  hall,  which,  upon  his  asking  for  it,  you  will  be  pleas- 
ed to  allow.  The  board  suppose  that  the  most  ready  and  efficacious  mode 
of  procuring  the  materials  of  wood  will  be  by  advertising  for  them  in  one 
or  more  of  the  Philadelphia  papers,  or  by  making  generally  known  to  timber- 
getters  what  may  be  wanted,  and  procuring  them  in  proper  quantities 
from  one  or  more,  as  may  be  judged  most  expedient ;  they  would  be  pleased 
to  have  your  opinion  as  to  the  best  mode  of  procuring  the  frame,  &c, 
whether  by  contract  or  by  open  purchase  in  the  market,  exciting  competi- 
tion by  making  it  known  that  such  materials  are  wanted.  Before  closing 
any  engagement  of  importance,  which  must  be  done  through  the  navy 
agent,  under  your  advice  and  direction,  the  board  desire  to  be  informed  of 
all  offers,  with  your  opinion  thereon  ;  this  will  enable  them  to  give  definite 
and  satisfactory  directions  upon  the  subject.  The  object  is  to  provide  all 
the  materials  necessary  in  the  construction  of  the  steamer  as  early  as  practi- 
cable, consistently  with  the  public  interests.  Those  of  copper  and  iron 
will  be  furnished  by  the  contractors  upon  requisition  being  made  upon  them. 
The  board  wish  also  to  have  your  opinion  on  the  subject  of  the  steam  en- 
gine; that  is.  where  it  would  be  most  likely  to  be  made  to  the  best  advantage. 

L  WARRINGTON, 
For  the  Board  of  N.  Commissioners. 
Com.  Charles  Steward.  Philadelphia. 


No.  G. — Copy. 

Navy  Department,  September  22,  1841. 
Sir:  The  department  has  directed  the  commissioners  of  the  navy  to 
cause  a  steam  vessel  of  war  to  be  built  on  your  plan,  not  to  exceed  six  hun- 
dred tons  burden.  You  will  superintend  the  building  of  said  steamer,  un- 
der the  direction  of  the  commandant  of  the  navy  yard  at  Philadelphia, 
making  to  him,  from  time  to  time,  during  the  progress  of  the  work,  such 
suggestions  as  you  may  think  proper. 

1  am  respectfully,  <fcc, 

J.  I).  SIMMS, 
Acting-  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

Capt.  R.  P.  Stockton, 

U.  S.  Navy,  Princeton,  N.  J. 


Rep.  No.  144. 


39 


No.  7. — Extract. 

Commandant'3  Offick,  U.  S.  Navy  Yard, 

Philadelphia,  October  5,  1841. 
Gentlemen  :  I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  2lst  ultimo,  in  relation, 
to  a  steamer  of  600  tons,  lo  be  constructed  at  the  yard,  after  the  model  sug- 
gested by,  and  under  the  direction  of,  Captain  Robert  F.  Stockton. 

All  the  facilities  which  can  be  furnished  here  for  this  object  will  be  af- 
forded to  Oapt.  Stockton,  whenever  he  is  prepared  to  carry  into  effect  the 
views  of  the  department. 

CHARLES  STEWART. 

To  the  Board  of  Navy  Commissioners, 

Washington i  D.  C, 


No.  S.— Copy. 

Navy  Commissioners'  Office,  November  18,  1841. 

Sir  :  You  will  be  pleased  to  cause  the  necessary  measures  to  be  taken 
for  procuring-  the  timber  necessary  for  the  steamer,  to  be  built  on  the  plan 
of  CaptaiH  Stockton,  as  stated  in  the  commissioners'  letter  of  the  21st  Sep- 
tember  last.  You  will  procure  this  timber  through  the  navy  agent,  by  con- 
tract, or  open  purchase,  as  you  may  deem  best  for  the  public  interests,  &c, 
to  be  got  in  conformity  with  the  plans  and  specifications  to  be  furnished  by 
Ca'pt  Stockton.  The  board  wish  particular  and  accurate  accounts  to  be 
kept  of  the  cost  of  this  steamer,  so  that,  when  completed,  a  detailed  report 
of  cost  may  be  made  to  this  office,  showing  the  quantities,  &c,  of  the  sev- 
eral materials  used  in  her  construction,  and  their  cost  respectively. 
I  am,  &c. 

L.  WARRINGTON, 
For  the  board  of  Navy  Commissioners. 
Com.  Charles  Stewart,  Philadelphia. 


No.  9.— Copy. 

Board  of  Navy  Commissioners,  April  7,  1842. 
Sir:  Herewith  you  will  receive  copies  of  contracts  made  with  Messrs. 
Merrick  &  Towne  and  James  Cunningham,  for  engines  and  boilers,  deliv- 
erable at  the  yard  under  your  command,  for  the  steamer  Princeton,  build- 
ing under  the  instructions  of  Capt.  R.  F.  Stockton. 

L.  WARRINGTON, 
For  the  board  of  Navy  Commissioners. 
Com.  G.  C.  Read,  Philadelphia. 


No.  10. — Extract. 

«  The  undersigned  engage  to  build,  for  the  United  States  government,  a 
semi  rotary  steam  engine  on  Ericsson's  patent  principle,  and  also  to  fix  the 


40  Rep.  No.  144. 


same  on  board  a  ship  of  war,  according  to  the  instructions,  and  agreeable  to 
drawings  to  be  furnished  by  Capt.  Robt.  F.  Stockton,  U.  S.  Navy.  The 
workmanship  of  said  engine  to  be  of  the  very  best  description  that  can  be 
produced  in  the  United  State?,  and  the  whole  work  to  be  performed  to  the 
annexed  scale  of  prices/' 

Contract  dated  at  Philadelphia,  14th  Jan.,  1842,  and  signed  by 

MERRICK'  &  TOWNE. 


No.  11. — Copy. 

The  undersigned  engage  to  execute  for  the  United  States  government 
the  following  work,  agreeable  to  drawings  to  be  furnished  by  Capt.  Rob't 
F.  Stockton,  U.  S.  Navy;  the  quality  of  the  work  to  be  of  the  very  best 
which  can  be  produced  in  the  United  States,  and  the  whole  to  be  performed 
at  the  rate  and  price  hereto  annexed  ;  the  work  to  be  delivered  and  put 
on  board  of  a  ship  at  the  Philadelphia  navy  yard. 

The  marine  boilers,  each  twenty-six  feet  long,  seven  feet  wide,  and  nine 
feet  high,  and  each  to  contain  one  thousand  and  one  hundred  and  twenty 
square  feet  of  internal  or  face  surface,  to  be  manufactured  of  the  best  Penn- 
sylvania iron,  we'll  braced  and  stayed  all  over,  and  strong  enough  to  carry  a 
constant  or  working  steam  pressure  of  twenty-five  pounds  to  the  square 
mch;  each  boiler  to  be  furnished  with  tw  o  neatly  finished  fire  doors,  of 
wrought  or  cast  iron  ;  two  ash  -pit  doors,  with  frames  of  cast  iron  ;  one  man- 
hole with  permanent  metallic  joints;  two  mud  doors  and  one  set  of  fire 
bars — the  substance  of  flues,  as  well  as  external  casing,  to  be  one  quarter  of 
an  inch  all  over,  excepting  the  termination  of  the  flue  in  the  middle  or  cen- 
tral boiler,  the  substance  of  which  is  to  be  three-eighths  of  an  inch  ;  the 
whole  of  which  work,  including  three  coats  of  paint  on  the  boiler,  to  be 
performed  for     -  .  .  .  .  $15,000 

2.  Fittings  of  the  boilers  for  each,  to  consist  of  the  following, 
viz:  One  safety  valve  and  seating  of  brass,  with  levers,  &c,  one 
stop  valve,  with  copper  spindle,  front  plate,  and  handle,  all  of  brass, 
for  shutting  off  the  steam  ;  one  blow  off  cock,  a  slide  with  handle, 
stuffing  box,  &c,  all  of  brass;  stop-cock,  or  valve,  for  regulating 
the  feed,  with  handle,  &e.,  all  of  brass  ;  two  water  gauges,  with 
brass  mounting,  and  three  gauge  cocks,  with  wash  water  pipe; 
also,  a  main  steam  pipe,  of  thirteen  inches  diameter,  extending  the 
whole  of  the  front  of  the  thre^  boilers,  to  be  made  of  copper  three- 
sixteenths  of  an  inch  thick,  and  provided  with  sliding  joints  hav- 
ing glands  and  stuffing  boxes  of  brass,  provided,  likewise,  with 
suitable  flanges,  and  duly  attached  to  t lie  boilers  ;  also,  a  feed  pipe 
of  copper  extendin g  across  the  three  boilers,  provided  with  branch 
pipes  and  attached  to  the  feed  cocks;  and  also  a  copper  pipe  for 
carrying  off  the  waste  steam,  to  be  connected  to  the  three  safety- 
valves,  and  provided  with  a  short  branch  pipe  in  the  centre  ;  the 
whole  to  be  performed  lor  .....  3,000 

It  is  understood  that  the  beforementioncd  prices  include  the  # 
cost  of  erecting  the  boilers  on  the  manufacturer's  premises,  to  at- 
tach the  pipes  and  other  mountings,  and  to  raise  steam,  in  order 
duly  to  test  the  soundness  of  the  work,  previous  to  shipping  the 


Rep.  No.  144. 


41 


boiler,  as  well  as  (he  cost  of  erecting  the  said  boilers,  &c. ,  on  board 
of  the  ship  at  the  navy  yard  in  Philadelphia. 

3.  Two  separate  steam-engines  with  single  cylinders,  of  twelve 
inch  diameter,  fourteen  inches  stroke,  each  to  be  provided  with  a 
centrifugal  blower  of  four  feet  diameter,  made  of  wrought  iron. 
Each  engine,  with  its  blower,  to  be  attached  to  a  neat  cast-iron 
framing,  which  also  is  to  support  the  pulleys,  including,  also,  a 
proper  contrivance  for  tightening  the  leathern  belts;  all  the  bear- 
ings to  be  provided  with  capacious  oil-cups  of  brass;  also,  an  air 
receiver,  or  box,  to  be  placed  under  the  boilers  for  conducting  the 
blast  into  the  furnace  of  the  boilers,  to  be  made  of  sheet  iron,  and 
provided  with  dampers,  or  doors,  with  suitable  handle  and  gear 

for  regulating  the  blast ;  the  whole  to  be  made  for         -  -  $4,000 

4.  Smoke  pipe,  with  sliding  tube  and  machinery  for  lowering 
and  raising  the  same ;  the  machinery  to  be  manufactured  chiefly 

of  brass,  for       ------  1,250 

5.  One  of  Ericsson's  patent  propellers,  to  be  of  fourteen  feet  ex- 
treme diameter,  and  manufactured  wholly  of  copper  or  composi- 
tion metal,  the  spiral  plates  to  be  attached  by  screws,  and  so  accu- 
rately fitted,  and  so  perfectly  alike,  that  they  may  be  attached  indis- 
criminately; the  centre  or  hull  to  be  accurately  bored  and  pro- 
vided with  key  grooves  made  to  couple. 

The  propeller  to  be  made  complete,  and  two  spare  plates,  duly 
fitted,  to  be  included,  for  -  -  -  -  -    i  6,000 


Total  --------  $29,250 


It  is  understood  that  the  above  proposals  do  not  include  the  cost  of  con- 
veying and  placing  the  boiler  from  on  board  the  vessel  in  which  they  may 
arrive~at  Philadelphia,  on  board  the  ship. 

JAMES  CUNNINGHAM. 

Witnesses  : 
Cornelius  Delamater. 
Peter  Hogg. 


[In  consequence  of  the  letter  addressed  by  Captain  Stockton  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy,  under  date  of  May  20,  and  hereinbefore  printed,  marked 
BB,  and  the  communication  of  it  to  the  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs,  Cap- 
tain Ericsson  thought  it  necessary  to  submit  to  their  inspection  the  follow- 
ing tetters,  marked  No.  12  to  27,  inclusive.] 


No.  12. 

[Copy  of  letter  from  Captain  Stockton  to  Captain  Ericsson,  not  dated,  but 
written  and  received  m  July,  1841.] 

My  Dear  Sir  :  Mr.  Thomson  will  hand  you  one  thousand  dollars  on 
account.* 


*  This  was  in  part  payment  of  an  interest  purchased  by  Captain  Stockton  id  a  mathematical 
instrument  invented  by  me.— J.  E. 


Rep.  No.  144 


In  making  up  the  estimate  for  the  cost  of  the  ship,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  consider  what  must  be  put  down  for  the  use  of  your  patent  right. 

It  will  be  necessary,  therefore,  for  you  to  write  me  a  letter,  stating  your 
▼iews  on  that  subject.  As  a  great  effort  has  been  made  to  get  a  ship  built 
for  the  experiment,  1  think  you  had  better  say  to  me  in  your  letter  that  your 

charge  will  hereafter  be  (if  the  experiment  should  prove  successful)  ; 

but,  as  this  is  the  first  trial  on  so  large  a  scale,  I  am  at  liberty  to  use  the 
patents,  and,  after  the  ship  is  tried,  government  may  pay  for  their  use  in  that 
ship  whatever  sum  they  may  deem  proper.  Write  to  me  in  Philadelphia. 
Your  obedient  servant, 

R.  F.  STOCKTON. 

Your  letter  will  be  sent  to  the  commissioners. 

[On  receiving  the  foregoing  letter  from  Captain  Stockton,  Captain  Erics- 
son returned  the  following  reply.] 


No.  13. 

New  York,  Astor  House,  July  28,  1841. 

Ser:  I  have  duly  received  your  communication  on  the  subject  of  my  pat- 
ent  light  for  the  ship  propeller  and  semi-cylindrical  steam  engine;  in  reply 
to  which,  I  beg  to  propose,  that  in  case  these  inventions  should  6e  applied 
to  your  intended  steam  frigate,  all  considerations  relating  to  my  charge  for 
patent  right  be  deferred  until  after  the  completion  and  trial  of  the  said  pat- 
ent  propeller  and  steam  machinery.  Should  their  success  be  such  as  to  in- 
duce government  to  continue  the  use  of  the  patents  for  the  navy,  1  submit 
that  lam  entitled  to  some  remuneration;  but, considering  the  liberality  that 
tii us  enables  me  to  have  the  utility  of  the  patents  tested  on  a  very  large 
scale,  and  the  advantages  which  cannot  fail  to  be  derived  in  consequence,!, 
beg  to  state,  that  whenever  the  efficiency  of  the  intended  machinery  of  your 
steam  frigate  shall  have  be^n  duly  tested,  1  shall  be  satisfied  with  whatever 
sum  you  may  please  to  recommend,  or  the  government  see  fit  to  pay  for 
the  patent  right. 

I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  ERICSSON. 

Captain  Robert  F.  Stockton. 


No.  14. 

Philadelphia,  October  2,  1841. 

My  Dear  Sir:  I  will  meet  you  at  the  depot  at  Princeton,  on  Tuesday 
morning,  if  you  can  make  it  convenient  to  dine  with  me  on  that  day:  you 
may  return  to  New  York  in  the  night  train.  I  have  received  orders  to 
build  a  ship  of  six  hundred  tons;  I  have  remonstrated  against  it.  In  the 
mean  time  1  wish  to  converse  with  you  on  the  subject. 

R.  P.  S. 

Captain  Ericsson,  Astor  House,  New  York. 


Rep.  No.  144,  43 

No.  15. 

Philadelphia,  October  8,  1841. 

Dear  Sir  :  I  wish  you  would  make  the  drawings  of  a  ship  with  the 
dimensions  we  spoke  of.  I  will  go  to  Washington  as  soon  as  you  can  send 
them  to  me.  Put  both  bow  and  stern  to  her,  and  make  her  midship  section 
according  to  the  plan  we  spoke  of  at  my  house. 

Yours,  R.  F.  STOCKTON. 

Captain  Ericsson,  Astor  House,  New  York. 


No.  16. 

Princeton,  October  13. 

Dear  Sir  :  You  need  not  send  the  drawings  to  me.  I  will  be  in  New 
York  soon,  when  I  will  see  you,  I  hope.  Make  a  drawing  of  the  amid- 
ship  section  with  engine,  as  well  as  the  others  ;  and  the  calculation  for  ex- 
pense of  engine  and  propeller  complete. 

Yours  most  truly, 

R.  F.  STOCKTON. 


No.  17. 

Philadelphia,  October  17,  1841. 
Dear  Sir:  I  iiave  received  orders  to  send  on  to  the  commissioners  va- 
rious calculations,  cost  of  hull,  equipment,  &c,  &c,  &c.,  as  well  as  for  the 
engines.  I  cannot,  therefore,  visit  New  York  as  I  expected,  and  will  there- 
fore give  you,  in  this  hasty  manner,  my  wishes  in  regard  to  the  drawings  I 
wish  you  to  make. 


Length  between  perpendiculars   -  -         -  150  feet. 

Beam  moulded     -  -  -         -  -  30  <: 

Draught  light  forward     -  -         .-  -  10  " 

Do.      do.  aft  ....  15  « 

Do.     load  forward      -  -  -  -  16  " 

Do.      do.  aft  ....  17^  m 


1  want  you  to  make  the  drawings  to  the  precise  draught  of  water,  then 
calculate  the  displacement  from  the  drawings  :  the  difference  between  her 
light  water  and  the  load  displacement  will  be  her  true  burden.  I  have 
made  her  displacement  light  700  tons,  load  1400  tons.  If  I  am  correct,  that 
will  be  near  enough  for  her  buiden.  Mark  on  the  drawing  the  metacentre 
and  the  centre  of  gravity,  and  also  the  centre  of  floatation.  I  think  yeu 
had  better  make  five  of  midship  sections  alike,  two  abaft  and  two  before  0. 
This  will  give  us  a  large  floor,  ahd  enable  us  to  avoid  any  inflection  in  the 
lines.  Let  the  ©  section  be  in  the  same  place  as  in  the  old  drawing.  I 
have,  I  think,  given  you  sufficient  to  enable  you  to  complete  the  drawings; 
if  not,  write  to  me. 

Please  to  make  out  the  cost  for  engines  entire,  ready  to  set  to  work.  You 


I 


44  Rep.  No.  144. 

are  so  much  better  skilled  in  these  matters  that  you  will  have  all  ready  by 
the  time  I  get  through  my  work,  when  I  propose  to  take  them  all  to  Wash- 
ington. Let  me  know  when  you  are  ready,  and  1  will  meet  you  at  Prince- 
ton any  day. 

Yours  truly,  R.  P.  STOCKTON. 

Captain  Ericsson,  Aster  House,  New  York. 


No.  18. 

Philadelphia,  November  21,  1841. 
Dear  Sir  :  Orders  have  been  received  here  to  go  on  with  my  steamship 
of  six  hundred  tons.    Therefore,  the  sooner  we  get  the  working  drawings, 
the  better  the  engines. 

I  will  try  to  be  in  New  York  in  the  course  of  the  week. 

Yours  truly, 

R.  F.  STOCKTON. 

Captain  Ericsson,  Astor  House,  New  York. 


No.  19. 

Philadelphia,  June  2,  1842. 

Dear  Sir  :  Please  to  send  me  the  tracing  of  the  frigate  which  you  have, 
and  mark  on  it  the  dimensions  and  place  for  the  main  hatch.  It  must  be 
convenient  to  take  out  the  machinery  in  case  of  necessity,  and  at  the  same 
time  as  small  as  may  be. 

Yours, 

R.  F.  STOCKTON. 

P.  S. — The  bearer  of  this  will  call  for  your  letter  at  any  time  you  may 
name. 

Captain  Ericsson,  Astor  House,  New  York. 


No.  20. 

Philadelphia,  December  29,  1842. 

Dear  Sir  :  Enclosed  1  send  you  a  note  from  Messrs.  Merrick  <fc  Towne. 
How  much  room  will  we  require  along  the  shaft,  and  especially  over  the 
clutch  7    The  constructor  wishes  us  to  take  as  little  as  will  possibly  answer. 
Say  how  much  above,  as  well  as  on  the  sides  and  below. 
1  have  been  quite  ill  since  1  saw  you  last. 

Yours  truly, 

R.  F.  STOCKTON. 

Captain  Ericsson,  Asior  House,  New  York. 


Rep.  No.  144. 


45 


No.  21. 

Philadelphia,  February  3,  1843. 
My  Dear  Sir  :  The  unfortunate  death  of  ray  brother  William  will  pre- 
vent my  seeing  you  as  soon  as  I  expected.    Have  you  got  the  drawings  for 
the  rudder  and  post  ready  ? 

Yours  truly, 

R.  F.  STOCKTON. 

Captain  Ericsson. 


No.  22. 

Philadelphia,  February  20,  1S43. 

My  Dear  Sir:  I  ara  at  my  work  again,  after  a  tedious  confinement, 
longer  than  I  ever  remember  to  have  occurred  to  me.  I  am  happy  to  inform 
you  that  all  the  timber  for  the  Princeton  has  arrived,  and  we  have  as  many 
rriefi  at  work  as  can  now  be  employed  to  advantage;  and  if  none  of  the 
timber  should  be  condemned,  1  hope  before  long  she  will  make  some  shoir. 

I  will  try  to  be  in  New  York  the  last  of  the  week  or  beginning  of  the  next. 

I  hope  the  bands  on  the  gun  will  be  made  to  stand  the  45  lbs.  of  powder. 
Won't  Ho^g  insure  them  to  stand  ? 

Yours  trulv, 

R.  F.  STOCKTON. 

Captain  Ericsson,  Asior  House,  New  York. 


No.  23. 

Philadelphia,  March  4,  1843. 

Dear  Sir:  I  am  again  disappointed  in  not  getting  to  New  York.  Mr. 
Stevens  has  been  confined  to  his  room  for  some  weeks,  and  it  has  been  im- 
possible for  me  to  leave  this  place. 

Can  we  place  the  boilers  of  the  Princeton  about  three  feet  further  afc  ?  It 
will  give  us  more  room,  and  will,  I  think,  leave  space  enough  between  the 
engines. 

Yours, 

R.  F.  STOCKTON. 

Captain  Ericsson,  Asior  House,  New  York. 


No.  24. 

J        .  .  ,  [Endorsed,  Received  13th  April,  13-13.] 

PniLA delphj a,  Thursday. 
Dear  Sir:  I  send  the  tracings,  by  which  you  will  be  enabled  to  make 
the  drawings  for  the  wheel  and  gun  carriages. 


46  Rep.  No.  144. 


The  after  hatch  going  to  the  cabin  will  be  5  feet  6  inches  wide.  The 
chains,  of  course,  will  pass  clear  of  that :  we  can  pass  the  chains  through 
the  beams. 

You  will  see  that  the  carriage  one  foot  shorter  will  work  around  the 
circle  without  difficulty.  We  have  got  the  whole  frame  up,  and  I  think  will 
be  ready  to  launch  certainly  in  all  June ;  1  hope  the  middle  of  the  month. 

Yours, 

R.  F.  STOCKTON. 

Captain  Ericsson,  Astor  House,  New  York. 


No.  25. 

April  20,  1843. 

Dear  Sir:  I  have  your  letter.  It  appears  to  me  that  the  gun  carriage 
had  better  be  altered  at  once. 

Yours  truly, 

R.  F.  STOCKTON. 

Captain  Ericsson,  Astor  House,  New  York. 


No.  26. 

Philadelphia,  February  2,  1844, 
Dear  Sir:  Will  you  send  me  a  bill  and  receipt  for  the  1.150  dollars 
which  I  paid  you  for  "  services  rendered  in  constructing  and  superintend- 
ing machinery,  &c.,  for  the  United  States  ship  Princeton  ?"  I  will  include 
it  in  the  Princeton's  expenses,  and  repay  myself  for  the  advance  in  that  way 
if  lean. 

The  ship  performed  well  in  the  ice,  the  particulars  of  which  1  told  Mr. 
Thomson  to  inform  you. 

Yours  truly, 

R.  F.  STOCKTON. 

P.  S. — if  you  have  the  amount  of  the  bill  paid  for  the  London  engine,  and 
also  the  freight  and  other  expenses,  will  you  please  to  send  me  a  bill  re- 
ceipted  ?  I'll  try  to  get  that  also.  Do  it  as  soon  as  you  can,  before  a  new 
Secretary  gets  in. 


No.  27. 

New  York,  February  8,  1844. 

Dear  Sir  :  I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  2d  instant.  I  am  engaged, 
and  have  been  for  some  time,  in  making  out  the  bills  for  my  services  on  the 
Princeton  ;  but  they  range  through  such  a  length  of  time,  and  include  such 
a  multitude  of  items,  that  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  complete  them. 

Having  no  item  of  charge  of  the  specific  Bum  of  $1,150,  it  will  be  impo*- 


Rep.  No.  144. 


47 


sible  to  separate  the  amount  of  your  advance  from  the  general  bill.  Had  I 
noi  better  give  you  credit  in  this  bill  for  said  advance,  specifying  the  periods 
at  which  the  various  amounts  were  paid,  viz  :  1842,  May  3,  $400  ;  May 
6,  $100,  and  July  23d,  $650.  This  will,  I  think,  more  clearly  show  the 
transaction.  A  fresh  acknowledgment  I  suppose  you  do  not  require,  a£ 
you  already  hold  my  receipts ;  and  of  course  I  will  repay  you  the  moment 
1  receive  payment  from  the  department  for  my  services. 

On  Mr.  W.  Thomson  calling  upon  me  the  other  day  agreeable  to  your 
desire,  I  explained  to  him  all  about  the  model  engine,  and  he  kindly  prom- 
ised to  convey  my  explanation  to  you,  I  hope  you  have  ere  this  found 
Braithwaite  &  Milner's  accounts ;  if  not,  1  think  Mr.  T.'s  suggestion  to 
write  for  a  duplicate  account  the  only  course,  for  I  have  not  got  a  line  by 
me  touching  the  matter. 

With  regard  to  the  distance  instrument,  the  time  is  close  at  hand  when 
the  law  requires  that  application  should  be  made  for  a  patent,  or  I  shall 
forfeit  the  right  to  do  it.  I  have  a  duplicate  instrument  ready  ;  is  there  any 
objection  to  my  lodging  it  with  the  specification  and  drawings  in  the  Patent 
Office  at  once  ? 

Dear  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

J.  ERICSSON. 

Captain  R.  F.  Stockton. 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


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